# BitCoin in the hosting industry case study... who wants to partake?



## MannDude (Aug 10, 2014)

Heya,

Long story short ( because I'm about to cook dinner and stomach is growling  ), we'll soon be working on a 'case study', of sorts, about BitCoin in the web-hosting industry. There still seems to be a lot of confusion about BitCoins from the end-user, I have no interest in touching base on that as there are plenty of guides and topics covering _what_ BitCoins are. My main area of focus for this will be concentrating on providers who accept BitCoin as a payment method to learn how it's been for you.

So, if you're a provider and accept BitCoin as a payment method, is this something you would like to partake in? The piece will hopefully be used as a reference point for the web-hosting industry as there doesn't seem to be very much (consolidated) information regarding accepting BTC. Threads I have seen when questions are asked are often a mix of skepticism from those who don't use it, positive comments from those who do, and honest concern from others. Will be nice to have an organized write-up with factual information provided directly from providers.

I'm still working out the details, but respond here if you wish to partake.


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## HalfEatenPie (Aug 10, 2014)

I'd be down with helping out on the scientific process part, you know... being a scientist and all


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## Schultz (Aug 10, 2014)

I'm all for BTC in the hosting industry. My main provider accepts it and it's all I pay with lately


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## mtwiscool (Aug 10, 2014)

I accept bitcoin far cheaper then paypal(yes i do support that).

And i have low abuse from people who pay by bitcoin.


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## SkylarM (Aug 10, 2014)

We added bitcoin about a month to a month and a half ago I think? Going strong so far. No issues with the purchases either. A reseller of ours has been accepting bitcoin for a while and I can say we had FBI phone calls relating to Credit Card Fraud, etc being routed through a VPN in his IP range via customers who paid via bitcoin 

We'd be interested of course.


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## splitice (Aug 10, 2014)

Ill assist of course. Been accepting bitcoin for quite a while.


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## SGC-Hosting (Aug 11, 2014)

I'd be more than happy to participate!

Bitcoin and dogecoin have been great additions -- and I love being part of the dogecoin community too.


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## iWF-Jacob (Aug 12, 2014)

Be happy to participate. We've accepted Bitcoin for a bit now, oddly enough have not had a lot of people grab on to it.


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## zionvps (Aug 12, 2014)

Have been accepting bitcoins for a while. Compared to paypal they still have high abuse rate but overall it is manageable.. until now


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## SGC-Hosting (Aug 14, 2014)

zionvps said:


> Have been accepting bitcoins for a while. Compared to paypal they still have high abuse rate but overall it is manageable.. until now


Really? I've had the opposite experience -- my bitcoin and dogecoin customers have been by far the least abusive -- I'd say they've actually been the most responsible and friendliest.  I just assumed it's because they have nothing to fall back on if their account gets closed due to abuse.


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## Gaiacom_LC (Aug 15, 2014)

Sure, we are among hosting providers accepting Bitcoin for services, I'd be happy to be contacted for your study.



SGC-Hosting said:


> Really? I've had the opposite experience -- my bitcoin and dogecoin customers have been by far the least abusive -- I'd say they've actually been the most responsible and friendliest.  I just assumed it's because they have nothing to fall back on if their account gets closed due to abuse.


At this point, I feel the same.

The abuse potential is a huge factor and something I am still concerned about, but account verification is important as ever -- customers can't be allowed to create completely anonymous accounts, can't be allowed to bypass screening without verification, etc., etc.


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## MannDude (Aug 20, 2014)

Thanks everyone. I'll let you know once I get this more organized and create the time (and energy) to proceed with this. Very interested in getting this off the ground, however.


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## John HostiServer (Aug 27, 2014)

on the similar subject, are you using 3rd party payment gateway, if so which one?


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## HalfEatenPie (Aug 27, 2014)

John HostiServer said:


> on the similar subject, are you using 3rd party payment gateway, if so which one?


I hear a ton of people having success with BitPay


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## SGC-Hosting (Aug 27, 2014)

We use BitPay and Coinbase for bitcoin and Coinpayments for Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin.  Bitpay is most popular for Bitcoin and Dogecoin is our most popular coin in terms of number of sales.  We had a few users show appreciation for the fact that we have several options for paying with bitcoin (as much as I don't like cluttering the checkout - some users just hate coinbase, which is our preferred option).


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## FHN-Eric (Sep 25, 2014)

SGC-Hosting said:


> We had a few users show appreciation for the fact that we have several options for paying with bitcoin (as much as I don't like cluttering the checkout - some users just hate coinbase, which is our preferred option).


Because it's not safe to keep all your eggs in one place. Do some research, you will find that using online wallets is not recommend.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=346117.0 




SkylarM said:


> A reseller of ours has been accepting bitcoin for a while and I can say we had FBI phone calls relating to Credit Card Fraud, etc being routed through a VPN in his IP range via customers who paid via bitcoin


That's on the reseller, not you . Only thing you could do is terminate services if it becomes a frequent issue.


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## TekStorm - James (Sep 26, 2014)

While we do accept Bitcoin via BitPay, for a number of products/services that we offer, it's actually one of the least used methods of payment. For us, the most used payment method is credit card.


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## SGC-Hosting (Sep 26, 2014)

FHN-Eric said:


> Because it's not safe to keep all your eggs in one place. Do some research, you will find that using online wallets is not recommend.
> 
> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=346117.0


Of course -- but you don't need a coinbase wallet to checkout with coinbase, nor are we required to keep our coins there.  I prefer coinbase because I receive the coins almost instantly - once they're confirmed, they're mine.  WIth bitpay, I have to wait until the end of the day for payout - and coinpayments just doesn't give me the same level of comfort to store more than ~$5 in coins there at any given time.


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## DTS-NET (Oct 1, 2014)

bitcoin is way better than paying high credit card fees better for our resellers that our just starting out they can keep more of there hard earned money!


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## texteditor (Oct 1, 2014)

DTS-NET said:


> bitcoin is way better than paying high credit card fees better for our resellers that our just starting out they can keep more of there hard earned money!




these peaks and valleys are $200 apart


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## SGC-Hosting (Oct 2, 2014)

texteditor said:


> these peaks and valleys are $200 apart


That's only a problem if you hold the coins and end up having to sell when they're low -- many payment processors let you convert to USD immediately.  Luckily for me - the value of dogecoin has gone up to counter my losses in bitcoin!


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## estnoc (Dec 22, 2015)

We added bitcoin to our billing system about year ago. Gossip about customer paying with bitcoin are high risk customers, is not actually true. At least in our experience.


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## Kephael (Dec 24, 2015)

estnoc said:


> We added bitcoin to our billing system about year ago. Gossip about customer paying with bitcoin are high risk customers, is not actually true. At least in our experience.



Just wait until the FTC comes knocking. There's no reason a legitimate person or company will pay with bitcoin. Adults and businesses have access to traditional payment sources.


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## zafouhar (Dec 24, 2015)

estnoc said:


> We added bitcoin to our billing system about year ago. Gossip about customer paying with bitcoin are high risk customers, is not actually true. At least in our experience.



Well the customers who pay with Bitcoin aren't necessarily high-risk, I wouldn't classify them as that. I would though classify them as people who also want to hide income from governments for example amongst other things.


It is far too easier to pay with credit card, paypal rather than Bitcoin so in my opinion the majority of people using bitcoin to pay on a day-to-day basis have something to hide - not necessarily their identity.


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## KuJoe (Dec 24, 2015)

The majority of clients who pay with bitcoin don't cause any issues. On the other hand, the very few clients who do pay with bitcoin and violate our TOS/AUP are 100x more painful to deal with but that's probably because it's not refundable and they assumed because we accept bitcoin we're OK with spam, DOSing, and fake signup info.


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## estnoc (Jan 5, 2016)

KuJoe said:


> The majority of clients who pay with bitcoin don't cause any issues. On the other hand, the very few clients who do pay with bitcoin and violate our TOS/AUP are 100x more painful to deal with but that's probably because it's not refundable and they assumed because we accept bitcoin we're OK with spam, DOSing, and fake signup info.





In our experience, they dont cause issues indeed. On the other hand, if you think about paypal and creditcard payments and the outcomes if there is any chargeback involved, then you pray to god that someone invented this bitcoin thing in the first place  Everywhere i go in forums such as this, can find topics about pp and cc fraud. with bitcoin there is no issue with this thing. In my experience, so far i never noticed that clients who pay with bitcoin, are doing spam or what so ever.


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## CenTex Hosting (Jan 6, 2016)

We have offered it for about a month now and not a single person has used it. Nor had we ever before had anyone ask about it. I figured why not offer it. We will see in time.


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## drmike (Jan 7, 2016)

CenTex Hosting said:


> We have offered it for about a month now and not a single person has used it. Nor had we ever before had anyone ask about it. I figured why not offer it. We will see in time.



Bitcoin is still very niche / limited audience.


I read the other day about a Florida city that Bitpay spent a bundle sponsoring a bowl game (football) and enabling retailers to accept Bitcoin.  In a year or less, the town has all but removed Bitcoin efforts and the retailers that bought in struggled to find transactions done in Bitcoin.


I wish Bitcoin was more used / more viable.


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## Hosting Specialists (Jan 10, 2016)

I don't know a ton about BitCoins but if it was easy to turn BTC to USD/GBP into my bank so I can pay for my bills with it then I'd accept BTC, no problems. Not sure it is that easy though. Would have to look into this when I get some spare time.


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## MightWeb-Greg (Feb 24, 2016)

If you're looking for more providers I would be interested in joining the study. We've accepted bitcoins for about a year and haven't had any issues.


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## Licensecart (Feb 25, 2016)

Used it for 3 years and customers do use it. Not had any issues with people who use it.


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## AlbaHost (Feb 25, 2016)

We use/accept bitcoin aswell, never had issues with it so far.


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## VyprNetworks (Mar 14, 2016)

BTC is actually very intriguing to use sometimes it actually works for the sellers good depending if your btc sales are high or now.


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## Paulius777 (Mar 18, 2016)

Bitcoins are so much better. I do believe there is a huge bitcoin users market who are looking where to spend their BTC. And why not to spend them on GPU servers? I heard some people still make some good money from mining.


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## tmzVPS-Daniel (Mar 18, 2016)

In the past 2 months we have actually seen a lower percentage using bitcoin. I don't think it's going to last much longer personally. 


- Daniel


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## drmike (Mar 18, 2016)

tmzVPS-Daniel said:


> In the past 2 months we have actually seen a lower percentage using bitcoin. I don't think it's going to last much longer personally.
> 
> 
> - Daniel



Bitcoin noise has been quiet this year... I think they donated all their coins to Bernie   kidding, but wouldn't surprise me.


Everything in general has been quiet this year...


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## Jive (Mar 26, 2016)

I recently used Bitcoin to pay for hosting as a client for the first time and it kind of validated the fact that I have this cyber money I probably can't do much else useful with. It was painless and provided I still have enough in a month I'll likely do the same. Its fairly unlikely I'll do anything too illegal with the service 


Tried to buy a coffee with them IRL the other morning and failed dismally - the girl didn't know how to use the machine, that's 'the other guys' domain.


I guess as host provided it's not your main income source, you pull out early and you actually have enough money in the bank to float the business you'd be fine. How have you (who do accept btc/doge/altcoins) found the volatile exchange rates to legacy dollars/conversion rates and fees when it comes time to sell for $?


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## Hosted (Mar 28, 2016)

I accept BitCoins and several other cryptocurrencies. I will soon support 65+ cryptocurrencies with my services.


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## DomainBop (Mar 28, 2016)

Hosted said:


> I will soon support 65+ cryptocurrencies with my services.



You might want to consider the law of diminishing returns because at some point adding xx amount of options will start to lead to negative returns when you factor in the time/labor cost needed to support and maintain xx payment accounts.


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## CenTex Hosting (Mar 29, 2016)

we have been taking bitcoin for about 5 months now and we have only had 2 orders with it. Credit card takes the 


number one spot and then paypal.


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## RosenHost (Apr 1, 2016)

Which bitcoin processor are hosts here using ? Any reliable ones for Eastern Europe ?


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## Hosted (Apr 4, 2016)

RosenHost said:


> Which bitcoin processor are hosts here using ? Any reliable ones for Eastern Europe ?



CryptoPay (aff) is a quite reliable Bitcoin processor for European merchants.


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## CenTex Hosting (Jun 28, 2016)

We have been taking bitcoin now for about 9 months or so and have not really notice that many people switching to it or even using it. 


I would say for us its maybe 1 out or 20 orders or so that use bitcoin


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## HN-Matt (Jul 1, 2016)

The Bitcoin 'HYIP Monitor' sites are hilarious.


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## splitice (Jul 2, 2016)

HN-Matt said:


> The Bitcoin 'HYIP Monitor' sites are hilarious.



_Sucker. Thats just what the banks want you to think! I made 6000% ROI last week._


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## HN-Matt (Jul 3, 2016)

Cloud mining in ponzi heaven. Shout outs to CP and especially BM for keeping the dream alive. 1918 forever!


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## HN-Matt (Aug 2, 2016)

& down it goes


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## HalfEatenPie (Aug 3, 2016)

HN-Matt said:


> & down it goes



I saw.


#lol.


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## HN-Matt (Aug 16, 2016)

> 'You have taken my coin, sir!' someone's ugly, rasping voice rapped out — 'Please be so good as to return it!' — the crowd of players and curious onlookers standing around the table was still circling about him, like people riding on a merry-go-round — and someone began to tug at his sleeve — a gentleman with a squashed, clean-shaven face and a dyed moustache who stared at him intently with bulging, colourless eyes, saying something in French, but with an unpleasant accent, either Polish or German — and the merry-go-round suddenly came to a halt, although all the people riding on it remained at a rakish angle through inertia — frozen as in a tableau vivant, but with their eyes fixed on him, and even the croupiers, seated at either side of the table, raised their impassive faces — and he suddenly realized that he was being addressed and that somehow or other he had managed to rake in a coin belonging to this unknown gentleman, but what significance did this hold compared to his flight up towards the peak which had revealed itself to him? — and he mumbled some excuse and said that it was absent-mindedness, as he continued on his way, through inertia, floating in the clouds, unaware of anything else that was going on.


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## WSH_DNYT (Oct 6, 2016)

We have been accepting Bitcoin via Coinbase for 3 years now without any incidents!


The Take Rate is low, i was reading 1 in 20 and would have to agree.
It does not cost any money (monthly) and is cheaper on transaction fee.
Coinbase merchant does allow for daily withdraw in case you are worried about value fluctuation.


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## ShockHosting (Oct 10, 2016)

Bitcoin is great, I'd recommend using BitPay.


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## vpsfast (Nov 4, 2016)

We added this month the bitcoin as a payment method and appears to be an interesting solution, I hope to help soon with our experience on the use of BTC.


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## tmzVPS-Daniel (Nov 7, 2016)

We have been using bitpay for about 2 years now, but its barely used compared to our other payment processors. 


Thanks,
Dan


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## ChuckC (May 4, 2017)

We don't currently accept BitCoin but we are having a hard look ay Ethereum.


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## Medha Hosting (Dec 27, 2017)

We are trying to add bitcoin payment for our services.Already in touch with few payment gateway providers.We would be gladly agree this with you.


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## Vovaze (Feb 16, 2018)

MannDude said:


> Heya,
> 
> Long story short ( because I'm about to cook dinner and stomach is growling  ), we'll soon be working on a 'case study', of sorts, about BitCoin in the web-hosting industry. There still seems to be a lot of confusion about BitCoins from the end-user, I have no interest in touching base on that as there are plenty of guides and topics covering _what_ BitCoins are. My main area of focus for this will be concentrating on providers who accept BitCoin as a payment method to learn how it's been for you.
> 
> ...



i'm new here.I'll participate in this part and please update this forum because I want to take part actively in this cryptocurrency industry.


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