The 50 Most Interesting Companies In Bitcoin's History: 5/50
BitPay
The Idea: Bitcoin payment processing for merchants - the 'PayPal for Bitcoin.' Let businesses accept BTC and receive fiat settlements, removing volatility risk for merchants.
Early Traction: Processed over $1B in payments per year at its peak. Signed deals with Microsoft, Newegg, and the Sacramento Kings.
Status Today: Active. Still operating today and focused on bitcoin and digital asset payment infrastructure.
Why It Matters:
BitPay proved the payments use case could attract real VC money and merchants matched with the original vision of bitcoin. However, bitcoin payments have not taken off as much as some would have forecasted today, and most digital asset payments have shifted attention to stablecoins.