US Patent 10108938 Cryptocurrency payment network

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, from a point-of-sale system associated with a merchant, a request for payment associated with a transaction, wherein a payment amount is specified in a fiat currency. The method also includes determining a preference of the customer to pay for the transaction using a cryptocurrency and calculating a cryptocurrency value of the payment based on an exchange rate between the cryptocurrency and the fiat currency. The method further includes initiating a transfer of cryptocurrency value from a customer balance of the customer to a service balance of the payment service, initiating a transfer of a value in the fiat currency from the service balance of the payment service to a merchant balance of the merchant, and generating a record of the transaction between the customer and the merchant.