Chinese online retailer LightInTheBox to accept Bitcoin via BitPay platform

LightInTheBox, an online Chinese retailer will now accept payments in Bitcoin.

The retailer is based in Beijing and sells fashion items as well as household appliances and electronics. It saw its shares on the New York Stock Exchange immediately rise by 25% when the news was released.

All Bitcoin transactions on the site will be processed through BitPay, a US-based start-up backed by Li Ka-Shing, Hong Kong billionaire and chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings.

See also:

JD launches 7Fresh, competing with Alibaba’s online offering

Alibaba and Ford partner up for new retail opportunities in China

Asia edition of Business Chief – January issue out now!

Alan Gou, Chairman of LightInTheBox, and also a founder of Google China, told the South China Morning Post: “I’m glad to introduce Bitcoin as a new payment channel to our customers. We think blockchain could potentially be an important technology for us.”

The cryptocurrency is now accepted on the company’s platforms, LightInTheBox.com and MiniInTheBox.com, as of January 5th.

LightInTheBox Holdings Co Ltd delivers its products to consumers across 200 locations and has websites available in over 26 languages.

It was founded in 2007 and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013. The company utilised social and marketing platforms such as Google and Facebook to reach its potential customer base, and has partnerships with courier services such as UPS, DHL and FedEx.

Customers can still also pay using major credit cards and electronic platforms including PayPal.

Share

Featured Articles

Top 10 best-performing Australian companies: mines to banks

Among Australia’s largest companies by market cap are the country’s Big Four banks, a tech startup that successfully scaled, and two firms with female CEOs

Top 10 richest Southeast Asia: how they made their fortunes

From Singapore’s paint tycoon to Malaysia’s sugar king, we round up the 10 richest people in Southeast Asia – and investigate how they made their billions

Will moonlighting ever become accepted practice in India?

While not a new phenomenon, moonlighting has become a hot button issue across India with IT majors cracking down on it. Will the practice ever be accepted?

New YouTube CEO Neal Mohan joins surge of Indian-origin CEOs

Leadership & Strategy

Ex Infosys President Ravi Kumar is the CEO Cognizant needs

Leadership & Strategy

How India is bucking the global dealmaking downturn

Corporate Finance