April 18, 2025
Your April Newsletter for All Things BitPay and Crypto
The Important Bits
After a record-breaking start to 2025, the crypto market hit turbulence in April as global tariff tensions and inflation fears rattled investors. Bitcoin briefly dipped below $78,000, and volatility surged across both crypto and traditional markets. Still, beneath the headlines, innovation continues to thrive—from momentum-building technical upgrades to real-world bitcoin mining solutions reshaping rural economies. In this edition, we spotlight the biggest stories, top market movers, and how BitPay is continuing to lead the way in crypto adoption.
Industry News & Headlines
Industry News
Read news from across the blockchain industry:
Bitcoin Slides as Trump’s Tariffs Rattle Crypto Markets: As of April 7th, 2025, Bitcoin dropped about 7%, hitting a low of $77,077 amid renewed global tariff tensions initiated by President Trump. Ether also sank to $1,538, its lowest level since October 2023, as markets reacted negatively to ongoing uncertainty. (PYMNTS)
FAT Brands Becomes First Restaurant Franchise to Accept Bitcoin Royalties: FAT Brands, franchisor behind Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, and Twin Peaks, now accepts Bitcoin for franchise royalty payments across its 2,300+ global locations. The company aims to streamline international transactions and reduce currency exchange costs, potentially setting a trend for broader cryptocurrency adoption in franchising. (1851 Franchise)
Janover Shares Skyrocket After First Solana Purchase: Software firm Janover surged over 64% following its initial $4.6 million purchase of Solana (SOL) tokens as part of its new crypto-focused treasury strategy. The company, soon renaming itself DeFi Development Corporation, plans ongoing accumulation of SOL and acquiring Solana network validators, similar to MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin-focused approach. (CNBC)
Grok 3 for Trading Automation, with Caveats: Traders using xAI’s Grok 3 AI to automate crypto strategies praise its ability to spot patterns and sentiment trends, but warn of issues like data loss, lagging execution, and no direct exchange integration. Human oversight is still crucial. (Cointelegraph)
Bitcoin Mining Powers Rural Zambia’s Energy Growth: In remote Zambia, a hydro-powered bitcoin mine run by Gridless is using cheap, excess energy to generate crypto and support local infrastructure. The partnership has helped sustain the Zengamina hydro plant, providing electricity to over 15,000 people and boosting local businesses—highlighting how bitcoin mining can drive rural development when paired with renewable energy. (BBC)
Market Movers
Crypto markets are always on the move. Keep an eye on how popular coins and tokens are trending this month!
BitPay Wallet Tip: Using Layer 2 Networks in the BitPay Wallet
Layer 2 networks provide quicker, more efficient crypto transactions by processing off the main blockchain. With the BitPay Wallet, you can easily use Layer 2s like Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base to:
Buy crypto – Quickly purchase crypto with fewer delays.
Swap crypto – Exchange tokens across popular Layer 2 networks.
Sell crypto – Easily cash out assets at lightning speed.
Send & receive crypto – Enjoy rapid transfers without congestion.
Spend crypto – Effortlessly use crypto for real-world purchases with minimal wait times.
Experience simpler, smoother crypto transactions—all in one secure, easy-to-use app.
Product Focus: Crypto Payouts
Looking to pay out crypto globally without the hassle of banks, borders, or high fees? BitPay Send makes it easy for businesses to send crypto payouts at scale. Whether you’re rewarding customers, paying out affiliates, or settling rebates, BitPay Send automates the process with just an email address.
Recent payouts trends
The most popular payout types are rewards, rebates, referral bonuses, and affiliate settlements—perfect for loyalty programs, customer incentives, and creator partnerships.
Recipients most often choose to receive Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and USD Coin (USDC).
The takeaway? Whether you're building a Web3 rewards program or paying global partners, BitPay Send streamlines payouts with fewer fees, faster settlements, and happier recipients.
→ Learn how BitPay Send works and scale your crypto operations with ease
Best of BitPay 2024 Spotlight: AirX Charter Limited
Category: Airlines/Aviation
AirX Charter provides premium private jet charter services, delivering unmatched luxury, safety, and flexibility for global travelers. Recognized as the Best of BitPay 2024 winner in the Airlines/Aviation category, AirX Charter stands out for seamlessly integrating crypto payments, elevating the travel experience for crypto-savvy flyers worldwide.
→ Charter your plane with AirX
Limited-time offer: 5% boost on select gift cards
Now through the end of April, get 5% more when you buy select gift cards with crypto in the BitPay app! Use your favorite coins to score extra value on brands including Uber, Uber Eats, Instacart, Ikea, and Bath & Body Works. Terms and conditions apply.
Offer ends April 30th - don’t miss out! Check the BitPay app each month for more boosted gift cards.
Unlock Exclusive Savings with Stack Mobile & BitPay!
As a valued BitPay customer, you’re eligible for an exciting offer from Stack Mobile! Simply use promo code BitPay50Crypto at checkout to claim your $50 USD Crypto Bonus, which will be distributed to your preferred crypto wallet 10 days after activation.
But that’s not all — enjoy 10-15% Crypto Cashback every month on your purchases! This offer is good on both transferred numbers and new numbers, so everyone can benefit!
Don’t miss out on these incredible savings and rewards. Act fast!
Stack Mobile Terms & Conditions:
This offer is brought to you by StackMobile.com.
The $50 USD Crypto Bonus will be distributed 10 days after activation.
The $50 USD Crypto Bonus offer is valid until June 30, 2025.
Crypto Cashback terms and conditions apply - learn more at Stack Mobile.
1 line = 10% Crypto Cashback, 2 or more lines (including Smartwatch) = 15% Crypto Cashback for each invoice paid
See the link below for further terms and conditions.
Bid with crypto on live auctions
Place your bids with crypto on rare collectibles, luxury cars, fine art, and more through BitPay’s auction partners. From Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s to Heritage Auctions and Mecum, you can use Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies to participate in live auctions. Check out upcoming auctions and start bidding today!
→ View live auctions at Sotheby’s
→ View live auctions at RM Sotheby’s
Merchant shoutouts
Check out this month's merchant shoutouts:
Shop APMEX’s silver and gold popular categories, including pop culture collectibles. Shop now!
OneGold gives you direct ownership of vaulted gold, silver, and platinum at an ultra-low cost. Start your free account today.
Buy a domain name with Namecheap today!
Ready to start accepting crypto with your Shopify business? Get started today with the BitPay app!
Instantly deploy high-performance cloud servers, cloud GPUs, bare metal, and cloud storage worldwide with Vultr. New users receive $100 to test their platform.
Use BrandBucket to name your business.
Shop US stores and have your items reliably shipped back home with Qwintry
Merchant shoutouts
BitPay Travel is now open to all! In collaboration with Xeni, BitPay Travel allows crypto users to pay for flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities with their cryptocurrency. Book your travel at great prices and pay straight from your cryptocurrency wallet.
Travel Survey
BitPay Travelers, we want to hear from you!
Our partner, Vacation Genie, is asking the BitPay community to share views on travel-related cryptocurrency spending. Please take this survey, which will be used to inform crypto-enabled travel products.
Survey participants will be entered for a chance to win 1 LTC from Vacation Genie and they will select 10 winners.
Developer notes
SDK Releases
eCommerce Plugin Releases
General Notes
PHP SDK now supports PHP 8.4
Node.js SDK coming in May will require Node.js >= 20
Upcoming Releases
Aril: BitPay Checkout for Magento v10.2.0: Adds support for Magento 2.4.8 release
May: Node.js SDK v7.0: Improves implementation by exporting all useful classes
