Ask HN: What crypto payments options should I offer for my VPN?

5 points by willprice89 288 days ago | 9 comments

I run a VPN service designed to get around censorship. Customers are mainly people in countries like China, Iran, and Russia. Unfortunately those countries don't have easy access to common Western payment methods (credit cards, PayPal etc.)

I thought adding a cryptocurrency payment option could give more people access, but I don't have any real experience in the area and the information I've found searching online seems extremely unreliable.

So I'm hoping I can get some better answers from Hacker News. Here are my questions:

1. Is crypto a good choice for this use case? Are there other options that would achieve my goal (allow people who can't use Western payment methods to pay)?

2. Could I start with one or just a few specific cryptocurrencies? Or do I need to support a whole bunch of different coins?

3. Any recommendations for self-hosted tools or third-party processors for actually accepting the payments?

gethly 288 days ago |

I was looking into it as well but I have not found any payment gateway that would accept crypto, convert it into fiat and send it to me as payment as a single step process. I found some that could do it in multiple steps, which makes no financial sense, and they also charge for any movements. So to me, it looks like crypto is a no go for any legal business, for now. Maybe if you would be incorporated in El Salvador where crypto is legal tender and you would not have to involve fiat. But for most, that is not an option.

Maybe one day..

willprice89 287 days ago | |

I don't need them to convert it into fiat immediately. Even a single lump sum at the end of the month would be acceptable if it allowed more users to pay.

gethly 286 days ago | | |

See https://www.bitpay.com/ then. Might be what you're looking for.

chistev 288 days ago |

1. Yes, this is a problem crypto solves.

2. You can just start with a stable coin like USDC, this way you don't have to do any calculations. Just tell them the dollar amount.

3. Give the person paying your wallet address.

chrisked 287 days ago |

Accept USDC via https://www.x402.org/.

electricant 288 days ago |

Mullvad accepts cash payments where you send the amount due via mail. They also offer a choice of Cryptos. See: https://mullvad.net/en/pricing

silentpuck 287 days ago |

You might want to consider adding a Telegram-based payment bot. For users in China, Iran, or Russia, this could be much more practical than navigating obscure web wallets or exchanges.

willprice89 287 days ago | |

That's an interesting idea! Do you think it would be easier (for the user) than adding a crypto payment link on my website?

silentpuck 286 days ago | | |

Yes, it's much easier directly in Telegram. Many people are already familiar with in-chat payments, and for users behind censorship, Telegram often feels safer and more accessible than opening websites with unknown crypto gateways.