Mega to start accepting bitcoins

The new web storage service Mega founded by the controversial Kim Dotcom (aka Kim Schmitz) has confirmed that it will now accept bitcoin, an online virtual currency already used by thousands.

The site was launched shortly after its predecessor Megaupload was shut down by New Zealand authorities at the behest of the United States over alleged copyright violations.

“#Mega now accepts #BITCOIN via our newest reseller Bitvoucher: https://bitvoucher.co/ ,” the founder confirmed in a Twitter post on Saturday.

According to Dotcom, the virtual currency can be used to pay for extra storage space on the service. So if users exceed the default 50GB of free cloud storage, they now have the option to pay for extra storage, ranging from 500GB to 4TB.

For the uninitiated, the dollar-bitcoin exchange rate currently weighs in at close to $26, and Kim is offering 500GB for $13.32 per month – around half a bitcoin.

“The Bitcoin payment system allows its users to make payments without revealing their identities or other personal information, unlike credit cards, Paypal and similar systems,” BitVoucher explained in a detailed FAQ.

“Both Bitvoucher and our payment processor, zipbit, believe that an excess of customer information is already collected through existing channels, and we like to consider ourselves a haven from the intrusive nature of most payment processors. … We place a tracking I.D. in your browser (BVID located in the top left of your screen in blue) so we can identify you in the future; do not clear your browser data before completing your order and obtaining your Mega Voucher or you’ll be unable to retrieve your Mega Voucher code.”

Bitcoins first went live in 2009.