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

How to Choose a Crypto Payment Processor in 2026

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

How to Choose

Beyond comparing fees, focus on:

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.

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