Movies Plus joins Wikipedia, Microsoft in embracing Bitcoin payments

Streaming platform Movies Plus announced this week it has added Bitcoin to its payment options, allowing subscribers to pay using the leading digital currency. With this move, the firm has joined the list of companies that accept Bitcoin as a payment method, including Wikipedia and Microsoft.

BREAKING 🚨

Movies Plus becomes the first streaming platform to accept Bitcoin!

You can now pay for your Movies Plus subscription in Bitcoin!

Click the 🔗 in our bio and see for yourself. pic.twitter.com/34UbbRh7Ct

— Movies Plus (@MyMoviesPlus) March 12, 2024

To streamline Bitcoin payments, Movies Plus has collaborated with Flash, a payment processor that leverages the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

The Lightning Network is a layer 2 solution designed to enhance Bitcoin’s scalability by enabling faster and more energy-efficient transactions through micropayment channels that operate off the main blockchain.

Movies Plus’ latest adoption also made it the first streaming platform to accept Bitcoin payments. Streaming giants such as Netflix or Hulu currently do not support Bitcoin or any other cryptos.

Despite featuring crypto documentaries, Netflix’s stance on Bitcoin remains unclear. Netflix banned crypto ads in 2022 alongside those for politics and gambling. Netflix’s former legal officer David Wells expressed openness to Bitcoin payments in 2016, but no further progress has been made. Wells himself departed Netflix in 2018.

The adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptos is on the rise, with a select yet significant number of companies accepting them directly, and others through third-party services, as reported by Crypto.com.