Facebook, Spotify and Ryanair could accept bitcoin from today following BitPay deal

Payments platform Adyen has integrated with the world's leading bitcoin payment processor BitPay, opening up the possibility for Facebook, Spotify, Ryanair and thousands of other merchants using Adyen to accept bitcoin.

More than 3,500 merchants around the world use Adyen to process transactions, including four of the five largest US internet companies.

"It's such a great partnership," said Sonny Singh, chief commercial officer at BitPay, speaking to IBTimes UK. "Adyen's focus on e-commerce is perfect for bitcoin. It means firms don't need to overcome the integration issues with bitcoin as it will now be already included in their existing infrastructure."

UK-based games developer Jagex will be the first to enable bitcoin payments for its customers through Adyen, though Adyen's BitPay integration will mean any merchant using the platform will be able to easily allow bitcoin payments in the future.

It is understood that a major US-based firm will follow in Jagex's lead by accepting bitcoin in the coming months through Adyen.

The Netherlands-based firm processed $25 billion (£16.5bn) in transactions in 2014 and recently raised $250m in a Series B funding round that valued the company at $1.5bn.

"Interest in bitcoin continues to grow among merchants," said Roelant Prins, chief commercial officer at Adyen.

"As a business focussed on merchant needs, we are excited to give merchants the ability to securely accept bitcoin payments, alongside over 250 payment methods and 187 transaction currencies that we currently offer."

BitPay already supports bitcoin payments for a number of high-profile companies, including Microsoft, WordPress, Gyft and Virgin Galactic.

According to the latest estimates from BitPay more than 100,000 merchants around the world now accept bitcoin. Of these merchants, 53% accept the cryptocurrency using BitPay.

"Merchants choosing Adyen and BitPay will receive all the advantages of working with a stable, scalable payments platform, where bitcoin is seamlessly integrated into the Adyen payments flow, reporting, and settlement," said Tony Gallippi, BitPay's Co-founder and Executive Chairman.

"Adyen is a great company and a strong partner to help expand bitcoin adoption worldwide."