How to Choose a Crypto Payment Processor in 2026: Top 3 On-Chain and Off-Chain Solutions

The crypto payment gateway market is valued at $1.7 billion and grows 19% annually. For businesses integrating crypto payments, the choice of processor determines custody of funds, fee structure, settlement speed, and regulatory exposure.

This overview covers six solutions split into two categories: on-chain and off-chain.

What’s the Difference

On-chain processing generates a unique address for each payment, tied directly to the merchant’s wallet. Funds arrive without intermediaries — the processor only monitors the network and sends notifications. The principle: not your keys, not your coins — inverted.

• Advantages: full transparency, no counterparty risk, every transaction verifiable via a blockchain explorer.
• Disadvantages: dependence on network speed and fee volatility; no automatic fiat conversion.

Off-chain processing works differently: funds arrive at the provider’s wallet, which holds the keys, converts crypto to fiat, and settles with the merchant. In large ecosystems — Binance, BitPay — the transaction may never reach the blockchain at all. If the sender and recipient are both registered with the same provider, the system simply adjusts numbers on internal ledgers. The actual crypto may no longer physically exist in the provider’s reserves.

• Advantages: instant confirmations, auto-conversion, low entry threshold.
• Disadvantages: counterparty risk (hacks, bankruptcy, account freezes), dependence on provider policy, KYC requirements.

Hybrid models allow switching between modes per currency or per transaction.

On-Chain Processors

Blockonomics

Blockonomics is the oldest processor in this overview. Launched in 2014, headquartered in Singapore. CEO — Shiva Sitamraju. The team works remotely from four continents and gets paid in bitcoin.

Blockonomics uses a non-custodial direct-to-wallet model via xPub. The merchant links an extended public key from their wallet; the service mathematically derives unique bitcoin addresses for each payment, and funds land directly in the merchant’s wallet.

• Fees: Flat 1% on incoming transactions. First 10 transactions are free. No setup or monthly fees.
• Currencies: Bitcoin (primary focus), Bitcoin Cash, USDT (ERC-20). Altcoin support is intentionally limited.
• Integrations: Plugins for WooCommerce, WHMCS, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix.
• Reviews: Trustpilot — 20 reviews, 3.9/5.

Apirone

Apirone is a crypto payment infrastructure provider registered in Estonia. Launched in 2017. Founder — Maksim Boiarov.

Apirone accepts payments and routes funds to wherever the merchant needs them. Incoming payments can be instantly forwarded to a wallet after the first blockchain confirmation (Payment Forwarding), accumulated on isolated addresses for on-demand withdrawal (Account/Wallet Mode), or delivered to the buyer as an invoice with a QR code and payment status. The routing logic is configurable per scenario.

A separate automated withdrawal mechanism handles fund routing without third-party involvement: instant forwarding of incoming payments to the main wallet, recurring payouts on a set schedule, and automatic withdrawal once a configured threshold is reached. The merchant defines the fund movement logic independently.

Withdrawals can be initiated at any time — via API or the account dashboard. Settlement speed depends solely on blockchain confirmations and matches a standard on-chain transfer. Mass Payouts are supported, as well as the ability to send funds from a specific address.

A key feature is open architecture: all addresses and balances are visible on-chain, and every payment gets an isolated address.

• Fees: Incoming payments — free. For outgoing transactions, two tiers are available: fixed rates (separate for withdrawals and auto-forwarding) or percentage-based at 1% of the outgoing transaction amount. Micropayments — free. Network fees are calculated separately and depend on network load.
• Currencies: Seven blockchains — bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, TRON (TRX, USDT, USDC), Ethereum (ETH, USDT, USDC), BNB Chain (BNB, USDT, USDC).
• Integrations: Plugins for WooCommerce (10,000+ installs), OpenCart, PrestaShop. Additional tools: bitcoin blockchain explorer, POS terminal, payment buttons, donation widget.
• Reviews: Trustpilot — 43 reviews, 4.6/5.

CryptAPI

CryptAPI is an open-source crypto processor active since 2018. Registered in Panama; the team is anonymous.

The service uses a non-custodial forwarding model: the merchant passes their wallet address and a callback URL via API, then CryptAPI generates a unique payment address. When a buyer sends funds, the system automatically forwards the payment to the merchant’s wallet minus the fee.

Fees: Tiered by 30-day volume — from 1% at $0–$5,000 turnover down to 0.25% at $10 million and above.

Currencies: Six cryptocurrencies (BTC, BCH, LTC, DOGE, ETH, TRX) and tokens on 11 networks, including Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche-C, Base, Optimism, Solana, and Monad.

Integrations: 12 repositories on GitHub. Plugins for WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop.

Reviews: Trustpilot — 25 reviews, 2.6/5.

Off-Chain Processors

B2BinPay

B2BinPay is a licensed processor launched in 2017 as a product of the B2Broker group. The group has operated since 2014; CEO — Arthur Azizov. Headquarters — Rome.

B2BinPay is the most regulated processor in this overview. The company is registered as a BSP and DASP in El Salvador. B2Broker holds 10 licenses across jurisdictions.

B2BinPay supports a proprietary off-chain transaction system that bypasses the blockchain, speeding up settlement and reducing fees. Incoming payments are automatically consolidated into a single wallet for manual or auto-withdrawal.

• Fees: Crypto and stablecoin transactions — 0.25–0.50% depending on volume. SEPA/SWIFT withdrawals — 0.50%.
• Currencies and fiat: 350+ digital assets on 10 blockchains. Fiat: USD and EUR via bank transfer.
• Integrations: REST API v3 (JSON API, OAuth 2.0, HMAC-SHA256) and ready-made plugins for WooCommerce, Magento 2, and PrestaShop.
• Reviews: Trustpilot for B2Broker — 1 review, 3.2/5. No B2BinPay profile found.

NOWPayments

NOWPayments launched in 2019 by the team behind the ChangeNOW exchange. CEO — Kate Lifshits. Legal entity registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines; mailing address — Tallinn.

Forbes Advisor ranked NOWPayments #1 Cryptocurrency Payment Gateway of 2025, rating 4.9/5.

The model is hybrid — non-custodial by default with an optional custodial mode. During setup, the user specifies a Payout Wallet, and funds go there directly. Merchants can also enable balance storage on the platform for easier management and mass payouts.

• Fees: 0.5% for single-currency transactions, 1% for multi-currency (with conversion). Fiat settlement combines the provider’s fee plus 0.5% from NOWPayments. Mass payouts — 0% (blockchain fee only).
• Currencies and fiat: 300+ cryptocurrencies/tokens and 75 fiat currencies. Fiat on-ramp — via Banxa and Guardarian.
• Integrations: Plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop, Ecwid, WHMCS. Invoices, donation buttons, POS, subscriptions, mass payouts, white-label.
• Reviews: Trustpilot — 749 reviews, 4.4/5.

CoinsPaid

CoinsPaid was built in 2014 as an internal tool at Merkeleon and spun off into a standalone brand in 2018. The legal entity — Dream Finance OÜ — was registered in 2019 in Estonia. CEO and co-founder — Max Krupyshev.

Regulatory status: Estonian VASP license, MSB registration with FinCEN. ISO/IEC 27001 certification was obtained in 2024 — formally under the CryptoProcessing.com brand, which belongs to Dream Finance OÜ.

The model is custodial: CoinsPaid holds merchant funds and provides auto-conversion into 40+ fiat currencies. A merchant’s balance in the system is a record in the processor’s database — not cryptocurrency in a separate wallet.

In July 2023, the company was hacked for $37.3 million. Representatives stated that client funds were unaffected, but the incident disrupted platform availability and revenue. In January 2024, a second incident worth $7.5 million occurred.

• Fees: Payment acceptance — under 1% per transaction; individual terms available for high volumes.
• Currencies and fiat: 20+ cryptocurrencies with conversion into 40+ fiat currencies.
• Integrations: Ready-made plugins for seven CMS platforms: WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento 2, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Drupal, and Joomla.
• Reviews: Trustpilot — 19 reviews, 4.0/5.

How to Choose

Beyond comparing fees, focus on:

• Custody model. Non-custodial solutions (Blockonomics, Apirone) eliminate counterparty risk — funds stay in the merchant’s wallet at all times. Custodial ones (CoinsPaid, NOWPayments) are easier to use, but provider dependency creates real threats. CoinsPaid’s two hacks resulted in $44.8 million in losses.
• Cryptocurrency support. The range spans from three assets at Blockonomics to 350+ at B2BinPay. Stablecoins — USDT and USDC — are the minimum viable requirement for 2026.
• Regulatory compliance. MiCA makes licensing mandatory for the EU. Non-custodial processors without licenses operate in a gray zone, though the absence of fiat operations reduces regulatory exposure.
• Security and reputation. Trustpilot ratings in this overview range from 2.6/5 (CryptAPI) to 4.6/5 (Apirone). Review incident history and team transparency before committing.

The 2026 crypto processing market is segmented by philosophy and technical approach. On-chain platforms address demand for sovereignty and trustless solutions. Off-chain ones solve compliance and automation challenges.