The boss of a Bitcoin exchange company claims it is a great time for businesses to come on board with the cryptocurrency.

Douglas-based CoinCorner is the current holder of the digital champions accolade in the Isleof Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence.

The company has now launched what it claims to be a first-of-its-kind Bitcoin payment gateway which allows businesses on-island and in the UK to accept Bitcoin payments and receive funds back in pounds sterling.

Danny Scott, chief executive and co-founder at CoinCorner said: ‘We’re very excited to have launched CoinCorner Checkout at a time when Bitcoin is making big progress.

‘Over the last several months we’ve seen maturity in the market and more consumers entering the space to buy and sell.

‘Now is the right time for businesses to get on board with Bitcoin and to take advantage of what has become a $154 billion crypto market.

‘There are many reasons to accept it as a payment method, with the most important being that it brings competitive advantage.

‘Whatever the industry, customers look to use companies that are digitally relevant and make online shopping as easy as possible; offering a variety of payment options, including Bitcoin, goes a long way in appealing to new and existing markets.’

Although Bitcoin is known for big price movements CoinCorner says its payment gateway promises no Bitcoin price risk to the businesses that use its service.

When a customer makes a purchase with Bitcoin, CoinCorner instantly converts the funds to pounds and pays the business in sterling via the UK faster payments service.

CoinCorner claims that with worldwide customers and no chargebacks, Bitcoin is rapidly growing in popularity, especially as an e-commerce payment option.