Time Inc Becomes First Major Magazine Publisher to Accept Bitcoin

Time Inc, the publisher of more than 90 magazines, is now accepting bitcoin for select properties.

The integration was made possible through a partnership with California-based merchant processing services provider Coinbase, and will begin with a rollout on Fortune, Health, This Old House and Travel + Leisure starting today.

Consumers can now use bitcoin to buy subscriptions of @fortunemagazine, @goodhealth, @TravlandLeisure & @ThisOldHouse http://t.co/AVe9K9myTj





— Time Inc. (@TimeInc) December 16, 2014

In statements

, executive vice president of consumer marketing at Time, Lynne Biggar, indicated that the company is seeking to make it easier for consumers to purchase subscriptions for its popular magazines, and that it sees bitcoin as a vehicle for this aim.

Biggar said:

"We are always looking for ways to make it easier for consumers to engage with our brands and this pilot program will give bitcoin users a seamless and simple way to purchase subscriptions."

Biggar further hinted that Time would potentially expand its acceptance to more properties "in the coming months".

In turn, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong remarked that the partnership will allow it to showcase how bitcoin can become a viable revenue stream as the publishing industry goes digital.

The company has emphasized this value proposition in recent weeks, introducing a one-click tipping tool in November that it framed as a revenue solution for blogs and content creators.

The announcement notably follows that of fellow US-based publishing company, The Chicago Sun-Times, which earlier this year partnered with microtransactions startup BitWall to accept bitcoin for its subscription services.

Newspapers and magazines image via Shutterstock