Last updated: 5 May 2026
Genghis accepts over 300 cryptocurrencies for the purchase of digital goods, spanning every major Layer-1 chain, the main Layer-2 networks, all widely-used stablecoins, and a long tail of altcoins. The full list is selectable at checkout — search by token symbol to confirm support. The most-used assets in practice are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT) on multiple chains, USDC, Solana (SOL), BNB, XRP, Cardano (ADA), Algorand (ALGO), Dogecoin (DOGE), Polygon (MATIC), and Litecoin (LTC). This article gives a structured overview of what's accepted, organised by category, plus practical guidance on which token to pick for which use case.

The most popular: top 12 by usage
The 12 cryptocurrencies that account for the majority of Genghis purchases:
- Bitcoin (BTC) — the original. Slow but universal. Dedicated BTC payment hub.
- Ethereum (ETH) — second-largest by market cap; fast settlement and broad ERC-20 ecosystem. Dedicated ETH payment hub.
- Tether (USDT) — the most-used dollar-pegged stablecoin, supported across multiple chains. Dedicated USDT payment hub.
- USD Coin (USDC) — the second-largest dollar stablecoin, also multi-chain.
- Solana (SOL) — high-throughput L1 with sub-second finality and very low fees.
- BNB — Binance Smart Chain native asset; low fees and broad ecosystem support.
- XRP — fast and inexpensive payments network, popular for cross-border.
- Cardano (ADA) — Ouroboros-based PoS chain with growing ecosystem.
- Algorand (ALGO) — Pure PoS with sub-second confirmation; one of Genghis's institutional backers.
- Dogecoin (DOGE) — fast, low-fee, with a strong community of long-term holders.
- Polygon (MATIC/POL) — Ethereum L2 with low fees and strong DeFi ecosystem.
- Litecoin (LTC) — Bitcoin's faster sibling with smaller blocks and quicker confirmation.
Stablecoins: the practical choice for most users
If you want to spend cryptocurrency without exposure to short-term volatility, stablecoins are the natural fit. Genghis supports the major dollar-pegged stablecoins on multiple chains:
- USDT (Tether) on Tron (TRC-20), Ethereum (ERC-20), BSC (BEP-20), Polygon, Solana, Algorand, and others.
- USDC on Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Algorand, and the major chains.
- DAI on Ethereum and several L2s.
- BUSD (where still in circulation), TUSD, FRAX, and other minor stablecoins.
The chain you pick matters. USDT on Tron costs cents in gas; USDT on Ethereum during congestion can cost $5–$15. If you have flexibility on which chain you hold stablecoins on, pick the cheaper one for everyday spending and reserve the higher-fee chains for transactions where the chain itself matters.
Layer-1 chains supported in detail
Beyond the headliners, Genghis supports native assets and ecosystem tokens across the major Layer-1 chains:
- Bitcoin ecosystem: BTC, plus historical forks where the user chooses (BCH, BSV in some cases).
- Ethereum ecosystem: ETH plus the entire ERC-20 long tail — UNI, LINK, AAVE, MKR, COMP, SHIB, PEPE, and dozens of others.
- Binance Smart Chain: BNB plus BEP-20 tokens including Cake, BAKE, and other DEX tokens.
- Solana: SOL plus SPL tokens — Raydium (RAY), Bonk (BONK), Jupiter (JUP), and others.
- Cardano: ADA, plus Cardano-native tokens where supported.
- Algorand: ALGO and ASA tokens — including stablecoins on Algorand.
- Tron: TRX, primarily used as a low-fee chain for USDT settlement.
- Polkadot: DOT and parachain tokens.
- Cosmos ecosystem: ATOM and IBC-connected chains.
- Avalanche: AVAX and C-Chain assets.
- Stellar: XLM.
- NEAR Protocol: NEAR.
- Tezos: XTZ.
This list is not exhaustive — the checkout selector shows the full set, and the team continues to expand support based on user demand.
Layer-2 and scaling solutions
For users who hold assets on Ethereum L2s — the cheaper, faster execution layers built on Ethereum — Genghis supports the major ones:
- Polygon (MATIC/POL): the most widely-used Ethereum L2 by transaction volume.
- Arbitrum: popular for DeFi and lower fees than Ethereum mainnet.
- Optimism: Ethereum-compatible with sub-cent gas fees.
- Base: Coinbase's L2; growing user base.
For Bitcoin scaling, Lightning Network support is on the near-term roadmap — check current status at the Bitcoin payment hub.
Privacy coins
For users who prioritise transactional privacy, Genghis supports:
- Monero (XMR): the leading privacy-focused cryptocurrency, with shielded transactions by default.
- Dash (DASH): with PrivateSend optional privacy mixing.
- Zcash (ZEC): shielded transactions (Z-addresses) supported subject to network conditions.
Privacy coins are particularly relevant for users in jurisdictions where transactional privacy is a legitimate concern — independent journalists, activists, business operators in unstable regions. For ordinary commerce, mainstream chains work fine; for privacy-critical use, Monero is the strongest choice on the list.
How does Genghis support so many tokens?
The platform integrates with NowPayments, a payment processor that maintains node infrastructure across all major chains and aggregates support for several hundred individual tokens. Rather than building the wallet and node infrastructure for each chain independently — which would be impossibly resource-intensive — Genghis leverages a specialist payment layer.
This is similar in principle to how a regular ecommerce site uses Stripe or PayPal for fiat payments rather than building card processing in-house. The specialist provider handles the chain-by-chain complexity; the merchant focuses on the catalogue and customer experience.
The practical implication: as NowPayments adds new chains and tokens to its supported list, those become available on Genghis automatically. The list grows over time.
Which token should I use for what?
A practical guide based on common use cases:
- Lowest fees, fastest delivery: Algorand (ALGO), Solana (SOL), or Tron (TRX). Sub-second confirmation, fees under a cent.
- Stable value, low fees: USDT or USDC on Tron, Polygon, or Solana.
- Holding BTC, want to spend some: just pay in BTC. The fee is higher and confirmation slower, but the experience is straightforward.
- Holding ETH or ERC-20 tokens, want low fees: bridge to Polygon or Arbitrum first, then pay from there. Or pay directly on Ethereum if the savings on the gift card itself outweigh the gas cost.
- Privacy: Monero (XMR).
- Maximum cashback for crypto-native users: stack Genghis Tribe loyalty (rewards on every purchase) with whatever yield strategy you run on your idle holdings.
Most-purchased products by token holders
For context, the most popular products on Genghis cut across all token types:
- For BTC holders: Amazon, Steam, prepaid Visa cards. Long-term holders use Bitcoin to fund occasional larger purchases.
- For ETH holders: Apple/iTunes, gaming subscriptions, monthly retail spending.
- For USDT holders: regular monthly spending — utility-equivalent purchases like Amazon, food delivery, mobile top-ups.
- For SOL/ALGO holders: small, frequent purchases where fast confirmation and low fees matter — daily coffee, transit, food delivery vouchers.
- For travel: Airbnb (via the travel and transport catalogue), Uber gift cards, eSIMs.
Frequently asked questions
Does Genghis accept Bitcoin?
Yes. Bitcoin (BTC) is fully supported. Confirmation timing is the slowest of the major chains (10 minutes to an hour) but the asset itself is the most universally held. Dedicated Bitcoin payment hub.
Does Genghis accept Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens?
Yes. Ethereum (ETH) is supported, along with all major ERC-20 tokens including USDT, USDC, DAI, LINK, UNI, AAVE, and many more. Use the checkout selector to find your specific token.
Does Genghis accept USDT?
Yes. USDT is supported across multiple chains: Tron (TRC-20, lowest fees), Ethereum (ERC-20, highest fees but most widely held), BSC (BEP-20), Polygon, Solana, and others. Pick the chain where you hold the asset.
Does Genghis accept Solana, BNB, XRP, Cardano, and Algorand?
Yes. Solana (SOL), BNB, XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Algorand (ALGO) are all natively supported. ALGO and SOL holders benefit from sub-second confirmation and fees of less than a cent. Algorand Foundation is one of Genghis's institutional backers.
Are there platform fees on top of the cryptocurrency price?
No platform fee. The price you see in USD is the price you pay, converted to your chosen token at the live market rate. You pay your wallet's network gas fee on top — which depends on the chain you choose.
What if my cryptocurrency is not on the main list?
The full list at checkout exceeds 300 tokens. Type the symbol of your token in the search field — chances are it's there. If not, contact support with the request and the team will check feasibility.
Which chain should I use for stablecoins?
For USDT or USDC, Tron is typically the lowest-fee option. Solana and Polygon are also cheap. Ethereum has the highest fees but is the most widely held. Choose based on what you hold and what gas you want to pay.
Bottom line
Genghis is one of the most chain-agnostic crypto-payment platforms in commerce today. Whether you hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, a major altcoin, a stablecoin on any chain, or a niche token, you can probably spend it directly on something useful. For the full purchase walkthrough, see How Genghis Works: No-KYC Crypto Checkout in 3 Minutes. For trust and security, see Is Genghis Safe? Security, Privacy, and Trust Explained.
Cross-chain bridging: pay from any chain
What if you hold a token on a chain that doesn't have great fee economics, and you'd prefer to pay from a cheaper chain? Cross-chain bridges let you move assets between blockchains, which expands your options at Genghis checkout. Two relevant scenarios:
Stablecoin bridge for cheaper fees. If you hold USDT on Ethereum but want to pay with USDT on Tron (to avoid Ethereum's high gas), you can bridge through services like Stargate, Allbridge, or the chain-native bridges of Tron and Polygon. The bridge typically takes 1–10 minutes and charges a small fee (often $1–3). For purchases over $50, the savings on Genghis-side gas more than cover the bridge cost.
Long-tail altcoin to mainstream stablecoin. If you hold a niche token that's supported by Genghis but you'd prefer to pay in a stablecoin, you can swap on a DEX (Uniswap on Ethereum, PancakeSwap on BSC, Raydium on Solana) before paying. Whether this is worth doing depends on slippage on the source token; for highly-liquid altcoins, it's seamless.
For users running an active multi-chain treasury, the practical workflow is: hold core wealth on the chain that suits long-term storage (often Ethereum or Bitcoin), maintain a small spending balance on a fast cheap chain (Solana, Algorand, Tron), and top up the spending balance via bridge as needed. Genghis works equally well at the receiving end of any of these.
Note: bridge security is a real consideration. Use only well-established, audited bridges. Some bridges have been historically compromised — Wormhole and Ronin are well-known examples. The chain-native bridges of major L2s (Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon's PoS bridge) and the established cross-chain protocols (Stargate, Across, Hop) have stronger security records.
How is the supported token list maintained?
The Genghis supported list grows over time as new chains and tokens reach meaningful liquidity and adoption. The maintenance process:
- Inheritance from NowPayments. The payment processor maintains node infrastructure for hundreds of chains. As they add new tokens, those flow through to Genghis checkout automatically.
- User-driven additions. When users request specific tokens through support, the team evaluates whether the token has sufficient liquidity, exchange support, and on-chain reliability. If yes, it gets prioritised in the next NowPayments integration request.
- Removals (rare). Tokens that lose liquidity, become unmaintained, or face regulatory action are eventually removed. The team announces removals in advance through email and on-site banners; pending orders complete normally.
- Stablecoin chain expansion. Major stablecoins (USDT, USDC, DAI) are integrated on every chain where they have meaningful presence. This is the most actively-maintained part of the list because stablecoin chain choice is the single biggest factor in user-experienced fee costs.
If you've checked the checkout selector and your specific token isn't there, the most likely reason is that NowPayments hasn't integrated it yet. The fastest path to adding it is opening a support ticket with the token name, the chain it lives on, and a link to a major exchange listing.
More frequently asked questions
Can I pay with a token I bought on a centralised exchange?
Yes — but withdraw it to your personal self-custody wallet first, then send from there to the Genghis payment address. Direct exchange withdrawals to merchant addresses sometimes trigger exchange-side flagging; the personal-wallet step eliminates this entirely.
Are there minimum or maximum purchase amounts?
Minimums are set by the cryptocurrency you choose — typically the equivalent of $5–10 USD because below that, network gas fees become disproportionate to the purchase value. Maximums are typically $5,000–10,000 per transaction depending on the product category. For larger purchases, contact support for assisted checkout.
What happens if the cryptocurrency price moves during my transaction?
The conversion rate is locked at the moment NowPayments displays the address. If the transaction confirms within the lock window (typically 20 minutes), the locked rate applies regardless of market movement. If the transaction takes longer than the window — usually only a concern with Bitcoin during heavy congestion or with low fees — the order may need to be re-quoted.
Does Genghis support Lightning Network for Bitcoin?
Lightning Network support is on the near-term roadmap. Current Bitcoin payments are on-chain, with all the trade-offs that come with it: slower confirmation, higher fees during congestion, but maximum compatibility with every Bitcoin wallet. Lightning will offer instant settlement and sub-cent fees for users with Lightning-capable wallets. Status updates at Buy Gift Cards with Bitcoin.
Can I use a hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor) to pay?
Yes. Hardware wallets work seamlessly because Genghis only requires a single outbound transaction — exactly what hardware wallets are designed for. Connect your Ledger or Trezor to your wallet software (Ledger Live, MetaMask with Trezor support, Trust Wallet, etc.), construct the transaction, confirm on the device, and broadcast. The platform never sees that you're using a hardware wallet, which is exactly how it should be.
Is there a referral or affiliate programme?
Yes — through the Tribe loyalty layer. Active members can refer new buyers and earn points on referral activity. See Tribe for current programme details.
External references: Bitcoin.org | Ethereum Foundation | Algorand Foundation | CoinGecko
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.