Digital River Inc., a global provider of commerce-as-a-service solutions, today announced it has added bitcoin as a payment option for merchants that are selling online in the United States and using its small to mid-sized commerce solution. Bitcoin will now be available along with other international payment options, such as credit and debit cards, wire transfers, bank transfers and third-party wallets, according to the announcement.

"Bitcoin continues to attract more mainstream attention," Tom Peterson, executive vice president and general manager of commerce at Digital River, said in a statement. "We're excited to be among the first pure play e-commerce providers to make the cryptocurrency available for small to mid-sized businesses interested in providing their online shoppers more payment choices and added convenience."

Digital River partnered with San Francisco-based Coinbase, a bitcoin wallet and platform provider, to handle the conversion of bitcoin into U.S. dollars and process the payments.

"With Digital River's expertise in the global commerce and payments industry, we're proud to support the extension of their payment options for small to mid-sized businesses," said Adam White, director of business development and sales at Coinbase. "This partnership is another positive step forward in bringing bitcoin payments to the everyday consumer."