A London fintech startup said it would only join a fintech group if it could pay its membership in bitcoin

Bitfury

The Bitfury team.

A London fintech startup determined to drive forward the use of digital currencies said it would only join trade body Innovate Finance if it could pay its membership in bitcoin.

Bitfury, a company that provides the Blockchain infrastructure underpinning bitcoin payments, paid £10,000, or 37.55 BTC (bitcoin), to join Innovate Finance, which counts Visa, IBM, and Mastercard among its founding members.

Innovate Finance - founded in 2014 to promote the UK fintech scene - has more than 150 members but Bitfury is the first one to pay in bitcoin.

A Bitfury spokeswoman told Business Insider: "This technology, while having a myriad of other uses, allows users to transfer currency using bitcoin in a secure and fast way. Because of these benefits, Bitfury seeks to make payments in bitcoin whenever possible.

"The bitcoin blockchain is receiving increased attention for its potential to secure financial services, so as a member of Innovate Finance, Bitfury hopes to bring an understanding of bitcoin and blockchain to the other members and to the fintech industry as a whole."

An Innovate Finance spokeswoman added: "Given that we are a fintech company - we have to practice what we preach. We agreed under the condition to accept that payment method. We used Coinbase's bitcoin exchange to process the payment. They are one of our most influential members."