CoinGate

CoinGate

Industry	Payment Processor
Headquarters	Vilnius, Lithuania
Founder(s)	Jonas Gilys Dmitrijus Borisenka Irmantas Baciulis
Website	https://coingate.com

    

CoinGate was founded in 2014 and is incorporated in Vilnius, Lithuania. The company is a cryptocurrency payment gateway, enabling various businesses worldwide to accept Bitcoin.

Currently serving over 4,500 business clients and 80,000 registered users, CoinGate offers payouts in Euros for a flat 1% fee, eliminating any risk associated with the price volatility of cryptocurrencies. Their merchants can also choose to keep the revenue in cryptocurrencies, providing numerous ways to make a withdrawal.

Also, the company provides a platform for traders who wish to buy or sell their digital assets without making any deposits.

Even though most CoinGate services are available in most parts of the world (See “Supported Countries” section), the company does not provide merchant services in the U.S.

Brief History

CoinGate went live in March 2015. The company started to gain attention by the end of February 2017 with the launch of the credit card option for buying Bitcoin. By May 2017, CoinGate processed its first 10,000 payments.

Shortly after, in August, CoinGate went into a partnership with Shapeshift, adding over 50 additional cryptocurrencies to their provided payment options. In December 2017, the company also integrated Segwit addresses. By that time, the company had processed 100,000 payments in total.

In 2018, CoinGate started growing rapidly. In February, CoinGate joined forces with e-commerce platform Prestashop, offering an easy solution for merchants to accept multiple cryptocurrencies using the official plugin.

However, CoinGate is mostly known for pioneering the use-cases of the Lightning Network technology. In September 2018, CoinGate became one of the first payment processors in the world that introduced Bitcoin Lightning Network payments to thousands of online vendors. After CoinGate presented their developments at TechCrunch Disrupt event, the Verdict called CoinGate one of “future tech giants”.

CoinGate started 2019 strong, launching support for new native currencies each week. Since the year began, CoinGate natively integrated altcoins.

By January 2019, the payment gateway implemented ten cryptocurrencies natively. According to the article on CoinGate blog, CoinGate “processed close to 300,000 merchant payments since January (2018). In comparison, this is nearly three times more than last year”.

Merchant Tools

Merchants can receive Bitcoin and Altcoin payments via CoinGate using a range of tools: plugins/modules for the most popular e-commerce systems, API, Point of Sale apps, and payment buttons.

Additionally, customers can pay with over 50 Altcoins via Changelly integration, converting any payment to Bitcoin automatically.

Plugins

CoinGate offers a range of simple to use e-commerce integrations via plugins, modules or extensions for accepting payments in Bitcoin and Altcoins.

API

Application Programming Interface allows businesses to integrate cryptocurrency payments into an online store with more customization. Using the CoinGate API, developers can create orders, get orders and list orders, as well as receive payment callbacks and order statuses. API integration is also possible using one of the CoinGate libraries: CoinGate PHP, Omnipay, Ruby Gem. A fully functional Sandbox environment is available for testing using Testnet Bitcoin.

Points of Sale

Point of Sale apps for Android and iOS allow businesses to accept Bitcoin payments on any Android or iOS mobile device. Bitcoin Point of Sale web app, which can be accessed from any internet enabled device directly in a web browser, allows businesses to accept Bitcoin payments on any device with a web browser and an internet connection.

Payment Buttons

CoinGate Payment buttons allow businesses to accept Bitcoin donations and other simple payments on any website. All three types of buttons - Fixed price, Slider and List - can be easily customized to include any necessary description, company logo, and cover image.

Settlement

Payments received from customers can be paid out in Euros to a bank account, AdvCash or Skrill wallet, avoiding the risk of price volatility. Alternatively, merchants can receive payouts in Bitcoin directly to their wallet. CoinGate charges a flat 1% fee for paid orders processed - there are no setup or subscription fees.

Trader Tools

Buy Bitcoin and Altcoins

In addition to their services for merchants, CoinGate offers a platform for traders, allowing them to buy cryptocurrencies without making any deposits. After CoinGate receives the transfer, users can choose when to commit to their purchase (the maximum period is two weeks).

A list of all available purchasing options:

• SEPA Bank Transfer: Purchasing option for the Europe region. Allows purchasing most native cryptocurrencies listed on CoinGate. Registration and verified account are required;
• Direct Bank Transfer: also available in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam. Allows purchasing most natively integrated cryptocurrencies listed on CoinGate. Registration and verified account are required;
• Credit and debit cards: Instant payment option available worldwide. Allows purchasing most natively integrated cryptocurrencies listed on CoinGate. No registration required;
• Mobile balance (phone credit): Payment option available worldwide. Registration and verified account required;
• Skrill: Instant payment option for Skrill users. No verification and registration are required as long as you are verified on Skrill.
• Neteller: Instant payment option for Neteller users. No verification and registration are required as long as you are verified on Neteller.
• QQPay: Payment option for the Asia region. Allows purchasing most natively integrated cryptocurrencies listed on CoinGate.

For customers that use instant payment options, a quick KYC procedure is applied to ensure that both parties remain fully compliant with international laws.

Sell Bitcoin and Altcoins

Customers are also able to sell cryptocurrencies on CoinGate using numerous methods without the need to deposit funds first. The price of cryptocurrencies is locked before sending to CoinGate, guaranteeing users the amount of EUR they shall receive to their bank account, Skrill wallet or AdvCash platform.

Fees

Merchant fees

For merchants, CoinGate charges 1% flat fee for payment processing. There are no setup or recurring fees, and no fees charged to shoppers. The service includes free SEPA transfers and Bitcoin payouts, as well as customer support & reporting dashboard.

CoinGate also provides payment infrastructure for enterprise-grade projects and PSPs, meaning that particular clients may get a dedicated account manager, priority customer support and volume-based discounts.

Trader fees

CoinGate applies 3% buying and selling fee without depositing funds. Users can buy or sell directly to or from your wallet, also exchange fiat to crypto and vice versa.

Withdrawals

Euro withdrawals using SEPA bank transfer cost 0%. Still, customers might have to pay fees applied by a bank, depending on its services.

Withdrawals to Bitcoin are free of charge. However, customers will have to pay the network’s transaction fee.

Fee for Skrill and AdvCash withdrawals to Euros or U.S. Dollars is up to 1%. Customers will also have to pay a transaction fee.

Affiliate Program

CoinGate provides referral links that allow receiving 1% of the fees paid by traders who registered using your link. Referred customers will pay 0.5-1% lower fees than the usual 3%. Referrers will get a percentage of total payments that the referred customer makes.

Supported Countries

CoinGate provides a list of supported currencies here.

Blog

All of the major CoinGate announcements are published on the official CoinGate blog. The blog also often features merchants, as well as shares the insights about the cryptocurrency industry.

Merchant List

CoinGate does not have an official merchant directory. However, the company often features their vendors on the official blog and social media channels. Here is a list of articles that feature CoinGate merchants:

• We’ve Launched Lightning Network Payments for 100+ Merchants
• Support open source software LibreOffice with CoinGate
• Buy video games with Bitcoin (and altcoins) for PC and consoles
• Web hosting services that accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
• CoinGate partners with SIRIN LABS upon the release of FINNEY™
• Chronoswiss launches crypto-design watches
• Black Friday weekend promo: pay with crypto and win!

Information For Press

CoinGate has a webpage with all the necessary information for media journalists, including the company’s logo, media contacts and trademark guidelines. You can find it here.

External Links

• CoinGate.com website
• Official Blog
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• CoinGate Developer API
• Interview with CoinGate founder Dmitrijus Borisenka

References

• CoinGate implements SegWit addresses
• 80,000 New Merchants in Europe Gain Option to Accept Crypto
• Bitcoin Adoption Is Getting A Massive Lightning Network Boost
• TechCrunch Disrupt 2018: Could these startups be the tech giants of the future?
• A year in review: achievements, milestones and the future
• A full list of accepted cryptocurrencies
• Accept Bitcoin payments in your business: why and how
• Payment plugins and modules for e-commerce platforms
• CoinGate Application Programming Interface (API)
• CoinGate PHP GitHub
• Omnipay GitHub
• Ruby Gem GitHub
• Sandbox environment
• Point of Sale
• Payment buttons
• Buy cryptocurrencies with Credit Card without registration
• Buy crypto with Phone Credit
• CoinGate Lets Users Buy Bitcoin With Their Mobile Credit
• Buy cryptocurrencies with Skrill
• Buy cryptocurrencies with Neteller
• CoinGate supported countries
• Information for press