Decentralised printing network 3D Hubs has partnered with BitPay to allow customers in over 140 countries to pay using bitcoin.
The on-demand service, which connects local printers with consumers wishing to create 3D designs, has a network of more than 13,000 machines listed on its database.
When asked about his company’s decision to accept bitcoin, Bram de Zwart, co-founder at 3D Hubs, said the currency’s integration had been the most requested feature by the 3D Hubs community:
“This makes sense as there is much overlap between bitcoin and 3D Hubs. They are both platforms that enable communities to change large industries with a bottom-up approach to manufacturing and payments.”
“With this launch we are making it possible for everyone to manufacture and purchase products without traditional centralised institutions in between,” he added.
‘Perfect synergy’
Wouter Vonk, European Marketing Manager at BitPay, said 3D Hubs brought “a disruptive technology to the masses by decentralising 3D printing”, adding that this was in “perfect synergy with what BitPay is doing for money transfers”.
“While we are making the physical concept of money digital, 3D Hubs is making digital concepts physical,” he said.
The announcement comes after 3D Hubs’ payment processor Adyen partnered with BitPay to provide bitcoin functionality to its clients last month.
Adyen services a variety of businesses including Uber, Facebook and Spotify, who can now ‘switch on’ bitcoin payments without the hassle of a custom integration.
Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPay.