Pay for AI coding APIs with Bitcoin and Ethereum
If what you hold is BTC or ETH rather than stablecoins, there is no need to convert first. Bitcoin works on mainnet plus four wrapped networks, Ethereum on ten, and the platform fee is still zero.
Four things to settle first
BTC networks
Bitcoin mainnet, plus four kBTC networks on Ethereum, OP Mainnet, Ink and Unichain.
ETH networks
Ethereum mainnet plus Arbitrum One, Base, Optimism, Polygon, Unichain, Ink, Arbitrum Nova, zkSync Era and Linea.
of them are not BTC
The four non-mainnet rows labelled Bitcoin actually take kBTC, which is neither BTC nor WBTC.
platform fee
No third-party crypto gateway, so the full USD value of what you send reaches your balance.
When BTC or ETH beats a stablecoin
If you already hold BTC or ETH, paying with them directly saves a sell-into-stablecoin step and the slippage and fees that come with it. The reverse also holds: if you would be buying crypto specifically to top up, buying a stablecoin is usually simpler and spares you the price movement between placing the order and our verification. We credit the USD value as at the moment we verify, so that movement is on your side.
The BTC and ETH networks we accept
For BTC: Bitcoin mainnet, plus kBTC on Ethereum, OP Mainnet, Ink and Unichain. For ETH: Ethereum, Arbitrum One, Base, Optimism, Polygon, Unichain, Ink, Arbitrum Nova, zkSync Era and Linea — ten in all. Fifteen networks between the two coins, each with its own deposit address on the recharge page.
Three steps
Take the USD figure for your plan from the pricing page and convert at the current rate. Because the price moves, sending around 3% extra is prudent.
Sign in, open the recharge page, choose BTC or ETH, then a network. If you pick one of the kBTC rows the page states plainly that the token to send is kBTC.
After the transfer, send us the network, amount, transaction hash and QCode ID. We verify and credit the USD value as at that moment.
The one thing every BTC holder should read
Only one route takes native BTC
If your wallet holds native Bitcoin, choose the network called Bitcoin, whose address starts with a 3. It is the only network in the whole set that receives native BTC. The other four do not.
The other four take kBTC
The four rows labelled Bitcoin on Ethereum, OP Mainnet, Ink and Unichain actually receive kBTC, Kraken's wrapped bitcoin. It is neither native BTC nor the more familiar WBTC — sending WBTC there will not arrive either. Use those four only if you genuinely hold kBTC; otherwise use mainnet. The recharge page shows the token symbol as kBTC as soon as you select one of them.
Choosing between BTC and ETH
BTC mainnet
The fee moves with congestion and confirmation typically takes longer than an L2. It suits funds already sitting in cold storage or an exchange spot balance.
ETH on an L2
Sending ETH over Arbitrum, Base or Optimism is cheap and quick. If your ETH already sits on one of them, this is the smoothest option of the two coins.
Dealing with price movement
We credit the USD value as at verification, not the price when you sent. BTC and ETH routinely move a few percent within a day, so sending around 3% above the pricing-page figure keeps a dip from leaving you short of the plan you wanted. Anything extra still lands in your balance rather than being returned or lost. If you would rather not carry that exposure at all, the stablecoin channels are the better fit.
What the balance can call
BTC and ETH top-ups produce the same general USD balance as any other method, usable across everything QCode carries: the full Claude Code line, OpenAI Codex, Gemini, and Chinese families such as GLM, Kimi, DeepSeek and Qwen. Billing follows actual usage and does not vary by which coin funded it.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is the difference between kBTC and BTC?
kBTC is Kraken's wrapped bitcoin, running on Ethereum-family networks. BTC is the native asset on the Bitcoin network. They are different tokens and cannot substitute for each other. To send native BTC, choose the Bitcoin mainnet row.
I hold WBTC. Can I send it to the kBTC address?
No. WBTC and kBTC are wrapped bitcoins from different issuers, and a wrong send generally cannot be recovered. We only accept kBTC on those networks, so convert to something on this page's list first.
Which ETH network is cheapest?
L2s such as Arbitrum One, Base and Optimism cost far less than Ethereum mainnet. If your ETH is already on one, use it. Mainnet (ERC20) is only worth it when the funds are already there.
How long does a BTC mainnet confirmation take?
It depends on the fee you paid and how congested the network is, typically tens of minutes to a few hours. We verify only after on-chain confirmation, so a mainnet top-up takes longer end to end than an L2 one.
Which exchange rate applies?
The USD value as at the moment we verify the transaction, not the price when you placed the order or sent it. That is exactly why we suggest adding about 3%.
Where this page gets its facts
The network list and token builds come from the same configuration that drives the recharge page and update alongside it. On-chain fees and confirmation times are set by each network in real time and are unrelated to QCode.
Start topping up with BTC or ETH
Sign up for QCode, pick the network your coins are actually on, and start calling models shortly after.
Related reading
Crypto payment overview
The full list: nine coins across 56 networks.
QCode pricing explained
Plans, how billing works, and per-model rates.
Guide for Russian-speaking developers
A complete access walkthrough for that market.
Crypto transfers cannot be reversed. Check the network and token symbol on the recharge page before sending, and pay particular attention to the BTC versus kBTC distinction. Confirmation and credit times described here are typical, not guaranteed.