March 17, 2025
Your March Newsletter for All Things BitPay and Crypto
The Important Bits
Crypto never slows down, and neither do we! This month, we're covering Bitcoin's price movements, major policy shifts, and industry trends shaping the future of digital payments. Plus, we're spotlighting the Best of BitPay Award winners, expanded Layer 2 payment support, and exclusive deals for crypto shoppers. Whether you're keeping up with market moves or looking for new ways to spend your crypto, we've got you covered. Let’s dive in!
Industry News & Headlines
Industry News
Read news from across the blockchain industry:
Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish US Bitcoin Reserve: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, ensuring the US government retains its ~200,000 BTC as a store of value rather than selling it. The order also mandates a full audit of holdings and allows the Treasury and Commerce Departments to explore “budget neutral” strategies for acquiring more Bitcoin. (AP)
How much Bitcoin does the US hold, and where did it come from?: The US government currently controls 198,109 BTC (~$17.7 billion), primarily acquired through criminal seizures, including the Silk Road takedown and the Bitfinex hack. (Cointelegraph)
Brazilian Fintech Meliuz Adopts Bitcoin Reserve Strategy, Shares Surge 25%: Meliuz has announced a new treasury strategy, allocating up to 10% of its cash reserves to Bitcoin, inspired by firms like MicroStrategy and Metaplanet. The company has already purchased 45.72 BTC (~$4.1M), aiming for long-term returns and positioning itself as a pioneer in financial transformation. (Reuters)
Man Who Lost $800M in Bitcoin May Buy Landfill to Recover It: James Howells, who accidentally discarded a hard drive containing $800 million worth of Bitcoin in 2013, now plans to purchase the Welsh landfill where it was buried. After losing legal battles to excavate the site, Howells claims to have secured funding to take ownership and search for his lost fortune. (CNN)
Bitcoin Dips Below $80K Amid Intensifying Crypto Sell-Off: Bitcoin's price fell below $80,000, marking a 28% decline from its all-time high of $109,300. This downturn is part of a broader cryptocurrency market sell-off, influenced by macroeconomic concerns such as potential tariff wars and a slowing global economy. Major altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Aptos (APT), Avalanche (AVAX), and NEAR, also experienced declines ranging from 7% to 10%. (Coindesk)
New York Bill Targets Crypto Rug Pulls to Protect Investors: A new bill introduced by Assemblymember Clyde Vanel seeks to establish criminal penalties for virtual token fraud, specifically targeting memecoin rug pulls and other deceptive crypto schemes. The legislation follows major investor losses, including the $107 million Libra token collapse, and aims to bring fraudulent activities firmly under law enforcement jurisdiction. (Cointelegraph)
Market Movers
Crypto markets are always on the move. Keep an eye on how popular coins and tokens are trending this month!
Best of BitPay 2024 Winners
Crypto payments are evolving, and we’re celebrating the businesses leading the charge! The Best of BitPay Awards honor the most innovative merchants embracing cryptocurrency, as voted by you, the customers. From luxury fashion to everyday essentials, this year’s winners are setting the standard for crypto-friendly commerce. Check out the top merchants of 2024!
BitPay Product Updates
Pay on Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base L2 Networks
BitPay now supports payments on Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base, offering lower fees and faster transactions for crypto users. With this update, you can:
Pay with USDC, USDT, and Ethereum on these leading Layer 2 networks
Pay from practically any wallet that supports Optimism, Base, and Arbitrum
Enjoy reduced transaction costs and improved scalability
Limited-Time Offer: 5% Boost on Select Gift Cards
Now through the end of March, 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 Airbnb, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, DoorDash, and StubHub. Terms and conditions apply.
Offer ends March 31st - don’t miss out! Check the BitPay app each month for more boosted gift cards.
→ Buy boosted gift cards in the app
Pay Your Credit Card Bills with Crypto
Use your crypto to pay off credit card balances hassle-free with BitPay Bill Pay. Whether it’s Visa, Mastercard, or American Express, you can settle your statement directly from your crypto wallet—no bank needed. Start paying bills with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more today!
Merchant Promotions & Deals
Merchant Spotlight: Jomashop
BitPay is proud to partner with Jomashop, a premier destination for luxury watches, designer handbags, and fashion accessories. Now, you can shop brands like Rolex, Gucci, and Omega using Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more. Recent crypto purchases include a Rolex ‘Batman’ Submariner and Sky Dweller—what will you buy next?
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
→ View live auctions at Heritage Auctions
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
BitPay Travel
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
BitPay Checkout for Magento v10.2.0: Adds support for the upcoming version of Magento for merchants testing the 2.4.8 betas
BitPay Checkout for WooCommerce v6.1.0: Adds an option
Node.js SDK v7.0: Improves implementation by exporting all useful classes
Note: All information herein is for educational purposes only, and shouldn't be interpreted as legal, tax, financial, investment or other advice. Nothing contained herein shall constitute a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement or offer to invest, buy, or sell any coins, tokens or other crypto assets. BitPay is not liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies. For legal, tax, investment or financial guidance, a professional should be consulted.
