Substack Now Accepts Bitcoin (BTC) Payments for Subscriptions

Popular online publishing platform Substack has integrated a Bitcoin API with industry-leading Bitcoin payment processor, OpenNode, to allow its subscribers to pay with BTC for content on its website. 

OpenNode will power both on-chain and Lightning Network bitcoin payments on the platform. According to the announcement, the feature of paying with bitcoin will first be available to users who are interested in crypto-focused publications.

By using the service, they can make instant, low-cost payments with bitcoin and the online publishing company will retain earnings in bitcoin without converting to fiat.

João Almeida, the Co-founder & CTO at OpenNode comments how the new service will benefit content creators on Substack, saying:

“Our partnership will allow content creators across the Substack ecosystem to accept Bitcoin payments, and retain earnings in Bitcoin or convert to preferred currency. Writers and podcasters have flocked to Substack to regain creative and financial freedom, and Bitcoin is a natural fit.”

Substack was created in 2017 and currently has over 500,000 paying subscribers. The publishing website is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, Fifty Years, and others. 

Content creators use Substack to write and publish their work independently for their readers. Readers can also subscribe directly to writers they trust and value, and directly find their work through paid subscriptions. 

Speaking on the partnership deal with OpenNode, Nick Inzucchi, the product designer at Substack, commented:

“We’re excited to be working with OpenNode to enable independent publishers on Substack to accept crypto payments. Having this option will give writers more flexibility and freedom, and we look forward to doing more in crypto to meet writers’ needs.”

Meanwhile, in a similar development, Sheetz, an American convenience store chain, became the first big convenience store retailer to start accepting bitcoin payments.

Through Flexa, a pure-digital payments network, customers who use the store or the company’s gas pumps will be able to make payments with either  Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or the meme coin, DOGE.