Oldest Chinese Magazine now Accepts Bitcoin Subscription Payments

China’s oldest and most reputable science and technology magazine, Beijing-based Sci-Tech Report (BSTR), also called “Technology Life,” announced plans to accept Bitcoin as a payment method for next year’s subscriptions, the company said in a statement.

The move makes Technology Life the first media organization in China to accept cryptocurrency as payment. It is also seen as an acknowledgment of Bitcoin as a legitimate form of exchange of value.

The statement reads:

"In the past two years, blockchain as a new Internet technology has become an increasingly popular concern. Bitcoin, which was born in 2009, is currently the most widely-used cryptographic digital currency in the world, using the distribution of many nodes in the entire network. The database is used to identify and record all trading behaviors, and the use of cryptography to ensure the security of all aspects of currency circulation is the best practical application of blockchain technology so far."

Technology Life said it is priced at 0.01 Bitcoin (BTC) (about 450 yuan) per magazine and subscribers can pay subscription fees to the specific Bitcoin receiving address of the newspaper to complete the subscription.

It added that by embracing digital currency as a subscription payment, the magazine is sending signals that individuals should also start accepting Bitcoin as a mean of payment. It is also understood the move is intended to expand its subscription base by targeting tech-savvy subscribers, particularly those who have adopted digital currencies.

BSTR believes the services in cryptographic money are enough to convince fans of cryptocurrencies and investors to support their shift in strategy.

In order to promote readers' awareness of “reading is investing in the future,” Technology Life also provides a new policy for users who subscribe to Bitcoin, by allowing them to subscribe to Bitcoin at a certain price. However, after the end of the one-year subscription period, if Bitcoin prices increase, the newspaper will also refund the difference to the user.

It added that blockchain is a new application mode of computer technology such as distributed data storage, point-to-point transmission, consensus mechanism, and encryption algorithm. As a new network technology, blockchain may be widely used in smart contracts, intellectual property, securities trading, e-commerce, Internet of Things, social communication, file storage, presence proof, identity verification, and equity crowdfunding.

Despite Technology Life’s decision to accept cryptocurrency payment, China still bans digital asset trading and initial coin offerings (ICOs). Only recently, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) issued fresh warnings to investors of the risks associated with digital currency investments.