Nearly Half of PlainProxies Customers Pay with Crypto 

Cryptocurrency payments have already cemented themselves as the norm in the proxy industry.

With global, tech-savvy customers who expect fast and borderless payment options, most proxy providers can’t afford to ignore crypto, and PlainProxies is no exception. 

From the day the company started, they understood that serving their customer base means embracing digital assets.

But for PlainProxies, the journey to offering crypto wasn’t without its challenges. Here’s how they navigated the hurdles, and why CoinGate became a partner in their growth story.

Key takeaways:

• 45–50% of all customer payments are now processed through crypto.
• 10+ hours saved each month thanks to CoinGate’s fiat settlement and automated CSV exports.
• Compliance and accounting excellence turned crypto from a bookkeeping headache into one of the smoothest parts of PlainProxies operations.

Explore more success stories driven by crypto payments here.

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It’s never too late to start using crypto and stablecoins in your line of work. Take the first step and sign up for a CoinGate account.

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Meeting Customer Expectations from the Start with Crypto Payments

PlainProxies provides high-quality residential and datacenter proxies, powering large-scale web scraping and data gathering. 

Their customers range from e-commerce price trackers to cybersecurity firms, marketing agencies, and analytics providers — all with one thing in common: the need for reliable, private, and scalable proxy solutions.

“Recently, we launched our Unlimited Residential Proxies — removing bandwidth caps entirely — which has been a game-changer for scraping companies looking to scale operations while cutting costs,” says Friedrich Kräft, CEO of PlainProxies.

From the very beginning, cryptocurrency was part of the plan. “We actually started accepting crypto payments from day one, because in the proxy industry it’s considered a standard,” Friedrich explains. “Many of our customers simply expect it as an option, so for them it wasn’t a surprise but a reassurance. Offering crypto right from the start removed friction in onboarding and helped us win trust quickly.”

But the first solution they tried came with hidden complications.

When Accounting Becomes the Real Problem

In 2021, PlainProxies integrated cryptocurrency payments via Coinbase Commerce. While the technical setup was manageable, the operational impact soon became clear.

“When we first adopted cryptocurrency payments in 2021 via Coinbase Commerce, the technical integration was fairly straightforward,” Friedrich recalls. “But behind the scenes, accounting quickly became a nightmare. Without fiat settlement, every single crypto transaction had to be manually tracked against the volatile exchange rate at the time of payment.”

That volatility created hours of extra work. “That meant constant recalculations for our books, mismatched records when prices shifted, and hours spent trying to reconcile data at the end of each month.”

In an industry like Germany’s, where accounting standards are strict, this wasn’t sustainable. “For companies based in Germany, where accounting standards are strict and precision is non-negotiable, that’s not just convenient — it’s a lifesaver,” Friedrich later points out.

Fixing the Bookkeeping and Volatility Hurdles with CoinGate

Switching to CoinGate solved the problem at its root.

“Switching to CoinGate completely changed that. With fiat settlements, we no longer worry about market volatility — every payment is instantly converted into our local currency at the time of transaction,” says Friedrich.

On top of that, the reporting tools transformed their workflow. “CoinGate’s detailed CSV exports give us a clean, standardized record of all transactions, which we can feed directly into our accounting system. What used to take up to 10 extra hours of tedious manual work each month is now fully automated and accurate. For us, it’s not just a payment gateway but also a bookkeeping lifesaver.”

Features That Make the Difference

To sum up, for PlainProxies, two CoinGate features stand out and turned what used to be a time-draining challenge into one of the easiest parts of their payment stack:

• “Fiat settlement eliminates all the volatility risk and complexity of handling crypto directly.”
• “The detailed CSV exports give us exactly what we need for accurate bookkeeping.”

PlainProxies Customers See Crypto as the Default Payment option

For PlainProxies’ clients, crypto wasn’t just a niche alternative payment method. Quite the opposite — it was expected. “In our industry, accepting cryptocurrency isn’t really optional — it’s a necessity,” Friedrich explains. “From the beginning, it’s allowed us to meet customer expectations and onboard clients from regions where traditional banking can be difficult.”

He adds, “What we’ve noticed is that the share of crypto payments has steadily grown in parallel with our overall business growth. As more customers adopt crypto in their own operations, they naturally choose it as their preferred payment method with us.”

The numbers back it up: “On average, 45–50% of our total payments are processed through CoinGate, which shows just how essential cryptocurrency has become in our industry.”

What Coins do PlainProxies Customers Use to Pay?

PlainProxies’ customers are anything but shy about paying with crypto, and their choices paint a clear picture of what they value.

Litecoin (36.5%) is by far the most popular option, chosen for its speed and low fees — exactly the qualities that appeal to data-driven companies making frequent transactions. 

Ethereum follows with 13.4%, reflecting its strong presence among tech-savvy users who are already building and operating in the Web3 space.

Stablecoins play an equally important role: USDT (11.5%) and USDC (10.4%) together cover more than a fifth of payments.. 

Bitcoin, while iconic, sits at 8.8%, just slightly ahead of TRON (8.0%), which has earned a loyal following thanks to its efficiency for quick, low-cost payments. 

Crypto is a Necessity, Not an Option

As Friedrich puts it, crypto is no longer a differentiator. “As already pointed out, crypto payments in the proxy industry aren’t a differentiator anymore but a necessity. In fact, I can’t recall many serious proxy providers that don’t already accept cryptocurrency. What does set companies apart, though, is how they handle it. For any proxy business based in the EU, compliance and proper accounting are major hurdles, and that’s where CoinGate really shines.”

The lesson for other businesses is clear. “Definitely. With CoinGate, integrating crypto payments was as simple as adding any other payment gateway. For us, the key takeaway is that you always want to give customers the most convenient and trusted ways to pay for your services. In our industry, crypto is one of those essentials — and with the right partner handling settlement and compliance, it’s absolutely worth it.”

For PlainProxies, accepting crypto wasn’t optional — but managing it effectively was the real challenge. With CoinGate’s fiat settlement and reporting tools, they turned a potential accounting burden into a streamlined, compliant, and growth-driving part of their business.

As Friedrich summarizes: “With CoinGate, crypto payments became one of the smoothest parts of our process.”

Want to accept crypto payments in your business? Start by signing up for a CoinGate account.