16 May 2025
Your May Newsletter for All Things BitPay and Crypto
The Important Bits
This month, we're excited to unveil HODL Pay, BitPay’s newest way to unlock spending power without selling your crypto. Plus, Bitcoin breaks past $100K (again), Ethereum rolls out a major upgrade, and Arizona makes a bold move into digital assets. Keep reading for wallet tips, boosted gift cards, merchant promotions, and more. Let's dive in.
Industry News & Headlines
Industry News
Read news from across the blockchain industry:
Bitcoin Tops $100,000 on Renewed Trade Optimism: On May 8th, Bitcoin surged past $100,000, reaching $101,329.97 amid optimism from a significant trade deal between the U.S. and UK. The crypto market reacted positively to easing global trade tensions, with Ether also rising sharply, gaining over 14% to surpass $2,050. (Reuters)
Arizona Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Arizona becomes the second U.S. state, after New Hampshire, to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Governor Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2749, redirecting profits from unclaimed property into Bitcoin and other digital assets, aiming to combat inflation and modernize public finance without raising taxes. (Bitcoin Magazine)
Ex-Big Tech Talent Powers New Bitcoin Startups: Former engineers from Apple, Google, and Cash App are leaving established roles to build innovative Bitcoin ventures, buoyed by regulatory optimism and increased VC investment. Austin’s Bitcoin Commons has emerged as a key hub, fueling startups focused on privacy, decentralized finance, and next-generation crypto infrastructure. (CNBC)
North America Launches First Spot Solana ETFs: Canada introduces the first spot Solana ETFs in North America, offering direct exposure to Solana holdings rather than futures. These ETFs could pave the way for similar products in the U.S. market, fueling broader institutional adoption and setting a precedent for multi-crypto and potentially XRP-based ETFs. (TD Securities)
Ethereum Completes Pectra Upgrade to Boost Speed and Staking: Ethereum’s biggest update since the 2022 Merge introduces 11 major improvements, including more efficient wallet interactions and flexible staking caps. While Ether’s price continues to lag behind Bitcoin, Pectra reinforces Ethereum’s long-term vision for scalability and decentralization. (MarketWatch)
Bitcoin Hits $100k (Again)
Bitcoin has returned to its impressive $100,000 price point, reinforcing its reputation as digital gold.
Market Movers
Crypto markets are always on the move. Keep an eye on how popular coins and tokens are trending this month!
Introducing HODL Pay: Spend Crypto, Keep Your Stack
HODL Pay brings one of the most popular features of DeFi into BitPay’s world of merchants and crypto spending tools. It unlocks spending power without having to sell your crypto assets to make the purchase. Through BitPay’s integration with Aave, you can borrow against your crypto holdings and pay for travel, shop, buy a new car, or even make your monthly credit card payments. Best of all, you get access to liquidity, all while holding on to your crypto. And it all runs on the world’s largest liquidity protocol, Aave.
Why Use HODL Pay?
Keep your crypto: Spend without selling your assets.
Pay from any wallet: Integrates with your existing wallet and Aave positions.
Multiple ways to pay: Pay any invoice from BitPay merchants, buy gift cards, and pay bills.
Pay Bills with Crypto: Sign up for BitPay Bill Pay
Simplify your finances and boost your crypto utility. BitPay Bill Pay allows you to easily pay thousands of different bills directly from your crypto wallet.
Highlights:
Pay mortgages, utilities, auto loans, credit cards, and more.
Instant, secure payments without converting crypto manually.
Enhanced convenience and financial control.
Pay bills with top coins and tokens across networks and Layer 2s.
BitPay Wallet Tip: Add an Extra Layer of Control with Multisignature Wallets
Boost control over your assets by setting up a multisig (multisignature) wallet with the BitPay Wallet. Multisig wallets require multiple signatures to authorize transactions, significantly enhancing the control you have over your wallet
Why multisig?
Prevent unauthorized access and mitigate risks.
Ideal for joint accounts, businesses, or additional control over personal wallets.
Simple setup directly within the BitPay Wallet app.
→ Learn how to create a multisig wallet
Limited-time Offer: 5% Boost on Select Gift Cards
Now, through the end of May, 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 Ulta, Saks 5th Avenue, Total Wine & More, and Wayfair. Terms and conditions apply.
Offer ends May 31st - don’t miss out! Check the BitPay app each month for more boosted gift cards.
Unlock Exclusive Savings with Stack Mobile & BitPay!
As a valued BitPay customer, you’re eligible for an exciting offer from Stack Mobile! Simply use promo code BitPay50Crypto at checkout to claim your $50 USD Crypto Bonus, which will be distributed to your preferred crypto wallet 10 days after activation.
But that’s not all — enjoy 10-15% Crypto Cashback every month on your purchases! This offer is good on both transferred numbers and new numbers, so everyone can benefit!
Don’t miss out on these incredible savings and rewards. Act fast!
Stack Mobile Terms & Conditions:
This offer is brought to you by StackMobile.com.
The $50 USD Crypto Bonus will be distributed 10 days after activation.
The $50 USD Crypto Bonus offer is valid until June 30, 2025.
Crypto Cashback terms and conditions apply - learn more at Stack Mobile.
1 line = 10% Crypto Cashback, 2 or more lines (including Smartwatch) = 15% Crypto Cashback for each invoice paid
See the link below for further terms and conditions.
Merchant Shoutouts
Highlighting merchants driving crypto adoption and exciting promotions.
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.
→ Take the Survey for a Chance to Win 1 LTC
Note: Travel survey and 1 LTC prize is being administered by Vacation Genie, not BitPay.
Developer Notes
SDK Releases
eCommerce Plugin Releases
Kiosk Demo Dependency Updates
General Notes
New Unified GitHub Project
You can now more easily follow our GitHub issues and pull requests for per milestone across SDKs & Plugins.
Node.js SDK 7.0.0
Now available via GitHub while we finalize testing and prepare documentation. This version can be installed via your package.json file:
Please note that upgrading to version 7.0.0 has two breaking changes:
Node.js 18.x and Node.js 21.x support has been dropped, following the Node.js release schedule
Exports have been added for convenience and are now required for use
Additionally, support for Node.js 24.x is added.
Magento 2.4.8 Support
The Magento 2 module version 10.2.0 is being tested, and can be followed, contributed to, and downloaded here until its release to the marketplace.
Upcoming Releases
Look out for Java 23 support being added. This is currently being evaluated and we will have more information soon.