Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, now accepts cryptocurrencies and stablecoins for customer payments.
Summary
- Blue Origin and Shift4 Payments have patnered to bring crypto payments to New Shepard space travelers.
- Jeff Bezos’ company will accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and stablecoins including USDT and USDC.
- Crypto payments allows Blue Origin to tap into growing cryptocurrency market.
The space exploration company will accept Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies as well as stablecoins via Shift4 Payments, a crypto payments firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the companies said in a press release.
As well as Bitcoin, customers aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard will have the opportunity to pay for space trips with Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Tether (USDT), and USDC (USDC). The partnership also allows Blue Origin customers to tap into crypto payments by connecting to popular wallets, including Coinbase and MetaMask.
“Crypto is now a $4 trillion asset class, and the sky is the limit when it comes to its potential in the current payments ecosystem,” said Alex Wilson, head of crypto at Shift4. “We believe crypto and stablecoins are going to become an increasingly popular way for consumers to pay, particularly for high-end purchases, as both the consumer and merchant benefit financially from these transactions.”
Shift4’s integration allows Blue Origin to expand its customer base within the crypto community, offering benefits such as instant international transactions, faster settlements, and 24/7 availability.
The crypto payments feature is now live for all upcoming commercial trips on New Shepard. The suborbital vehicle launches to an altitude of over 100 km, allowing travelers to view Earth from above the Kármán Line — the internationally recognized boundary of space.
Shift4 eyes global expansion
The partnership comes just over a month after Shift4 announced its acquisition of Global Blue Holding AG, an NYSE-listed specialty payments and technology platform that offers tax-free shopping and currency conversion solutions. Global Blue also provides payment services for leading retail brands worldwide.
“By integrating Global Blue into our end-to-end platform, we’re further expanding our global reach and solidifying our position as a leading unified commerce provider that adds meaningful value to our merchants around the world,” Shift4 chief executive officer Taylor Lauber, said at the time.
Shift4’s Q2 earnings showed payment volumes grew 25%, gross revenue rose 29%, and adjusted EBITDA increased 26%. It was the first quarter in which Shift4 processed more than $50 billion in volume.
