BitPay, the cryptocurrency payment processor, announced the launch of HODL Pay, a payment option that empowers consumers and merchants.
HODL Pay connects the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem with everyday commerce, “enabling users to borrow stablecoins from DeFi against their crypto holdings and seamlessly pay any BitPay invoice at checkout.”
BitPay continues to focus on expanding Layer 2 network enhancements to enable “more expansive payment options for the Web3 community.”
HODL Pay is the latest in the company’s push to “offer more Web3 payment accessibility as digital currency adoption grows.”
Consumers can stay invested while instantly “accessing liquidity in stablecoins to meet immediate spending needs.”
Borrowed funds can be used for purchases “like travel, retail shopping, luxury goods, vehicles, and even credit card bill payments without selling their crypto holdings.”
The integration into BitPay’s checkout experience “allows users to spend confidently.”
Using HODL Pay is said to be simple.
Users must have a supply “position on Aave, collateral for borrowing.”
Those with an existing supply position can begin spending immediately, while new users can easily create a supply position by “supplying eligible crypto assets through the Aave platform.”
Once the supply position is ready:
- Users can generate a BitPay invoice by shopping with a BitPay merchant, signing up for Bill Pay, or purchasing a crypto-powered gift card.
- Connect a crypto wallet using WalletConnect.
Borrow stablecoins against the supplied collateral and complete payment through the BitPay checkout flow. - Loan management and repayment are handled through the Aave dashboard, giving users full control over their borrow positions and repayment schedules.
Customers can visit BitPay’s Merchant Directory for “a list of top merchants accepting crypto payments.”
For merchants, HODL Pay unlocks new opportunities to “reach long-term crypto holders who typically prefer holding over spending.”
By allowing these customers to borrow and pay “without selling their assets, merchants can drive higher-value transactions that might not otherwise occur.”
HODL Pay requires no additional setup or integration for merchants and maintains the “same next-day settlement that merchants expect from BitPay, in either fiat currency, cryptocurrency, or a mix of both.”
HODL Pay is available for all BitPay merchants and is “supported across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, and Optimism networks.”
As noted in the update, BitPay’s mission is to “transform how businesses and people send, receive, and store money.”
Its business solutions eliminate fraud chargebacks, “reduce the cost of payment processing, and enable borderless payments in cryptocurrency, among other services.”
For consumers, the BitPay Wallet offers a “digital asset management solution to buy, store, swap, sell, and spend cryptocurrency.”
The company has offices in North America, Europe, and South America and has raised more than “$70 million in funding from investment firms including Founders Fund, Index Ventures, Virgin Group, and Aquiline Technology Growth.”
