--- description: Satellite operator Dish Network said Thursday it will become the largest company to date to accept bitcoin. title: DISH Network Says It Will Accept Bitcoin image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # DISH Network Says It Will Accept Bitcoin  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 12:30 PM CUT  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 12:30 PM CUT Satellite television operator Dish Network said Thursday [it will accept bitcoin](http://dish.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=851093 "undefined") as a form of payment beginning later this year, making it the largest company yet to accept the digital currency. DISH, which provides pay-TV to about 14 million subscribers, said it will add the payment method as a convenience to customers. “Bitcoin is becoming a preferred way for some people to transact and we want to accommodate those individuals,” executive vice president Bernie Han said in a statement. The company said it will use the bitcoin platform Coinbase to process transactions. Bitcoin, a digital currency once used only by a small group of supporters, has become increasingly mainstream over the past year or so. [Bitcoin ATMs](http://time.com/56738/bitcoin-atm-comes-to-capitol-hill/ "undefined") have been popping up across the U.S. and elsewhere, and the Federal Elections Commission [recently ruled](http://time.com/93765/jared-polis-bitcoin/ "undefined") that political campaigns can accept small donations of bitcoin. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/135741/dish-network-bitcoin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/135741/dish-network-bitcoin/"},"headline":"DISH Network Says It Will Accept Bitcoin","datePublished":"2014-05-29T12:30:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:21.499Z","description":"The company says it's the largest to date to accept the online currency.","url":"https://time.com/135741/dish-network-bitcoin/","keywords":["Tech","Money","Television","Bitcoin","Companies","dish network"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/135741/dish-network-bitcoin/","name":"DISH Network Says It Will Accept Bitcoin"}}]}] ```