Adyen, a global payment technology company, today announced that it has enabled bitcoin payments for Jagex, the U.K.-based developer behind MMORPG RuneScape. Jagex is the first merchant to accept bitcoin payments through Adyen's platform, according to a press release. Adyen has integrated with bitcoin processor BitPay to enable its customers to accept bitcoin payments. 

Commenting on the rollout of bitcoin as a payment option, David Parrott, payment services director at Jagex, said, "An advantage of bitcoin is that it is still new and shiny enough to generate interest in the payment experience simply through the fact that it exists. There are people with investment in the system, looking for new and cool places to spend their cash. As a business that operates on a freemium model, where the payment process needs to be compelling enough to convert cost-free customers into paying ones, not having a barrier to entry for bitcoin users makes sense."

The press release noted that the announcement follows increasing investment in the startup ecosystem that supported bitcoin throughout 2014 and is being adopted by a growing number of leading global brands, including Microsoft, Newegg, Virgin Galactic and Takeaway.com.

"Interest in bitcoin continues to grow among merchants. As a business focused on merchant needs, we are excited to give merchants the ability to securely accept bitcoin payments, alongside more than 250 payment methods and 187 transaction currencies that we currently offer," said Roelant Prins, chief commercial officer at Adyen.

"Merchants choosing Adyen and BitPay will receive all the advantages of working with a stable, scalable payments platform, where bitcoin is seamlessly integrated into the Adyen payments flow, reporting and settlement," said Tony Gallippi, BitPay co-founder and executive chairman. “Adyen is a great company and a great partner to help expand bitcoin adoption worldwide."