How Churches Can Accept and Steward Bitcoin Gifts

Why Would a Church Accept Bitcoin at All?

Because some of your people already own it, and a few of them would give it if you made it easy. Crypto giving is no longer unusual. The Giving Block, a platform that processes crypto gifts for nonprofits, reported handling more than $100 million in crypto donations in 2025, with bitcoin the most donated asset (The Giving Block, 2026 Crypto Philanthropy Report (opens in a new tab)).

There is a second reason, and it matters more to us. Bitcoin moves across borders without a bank's permission. Paul Weaver learned why that matters after the February 6, 2023 earthquake in Turkey. He helped raise more than six figures for relief, much of it distributed through the local church. When he tried to send the last of the designated funds to people still living in containers, the government froze the bank account holding them. In his words, "For more than eighteen months, we couldn't move it." By the time the money was released, the moment to serve had passed.

Paul's essay, "Bitcoin, Generosity, and the Future of the Church" (opens in a new tab), first appeared on his Substack on March 20, 2026, and is worth reading in full. He doesn't claim bitcoin fixes everything. Neither do we. But a church that can receive and send bitcoin has one more way to be generous when the usual channels close.

What Are the Ways a Church Can Receive Bitcoin?

Path 1: Convert each gift to dollars

Several services accept crypto on a nonprofit's behalf and pay out in dollars. We use Every.org (opens in a new tab) for gifts of stock and cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin, which are converted to cash automatically. Compare fees, payout timing, and how each service handles donor receipts before you choose one.

Path 2: Receive and hold bitcoin

Here the church gets an address or payment page and the bitcoin lands in a wallet it controls. Options range from open-source, self-hosted software like BTCPay Server (opens in a new tab) to hosted payment pages. Our own Give page uses ZapRite with Strike and accepts both Lightning and on-chain payments.

Two terms you'll meet right away. On-chain payments are recorded directly on the Bitcoin blockchain and suit larger gifts. Lightning is a network built on top of Bitcoin for fast, low-cost payments, which suits smaller gifts. A good setup accepts both.

Should a Church Hold Bitcoin or Sell It?

That is a board decision, and there is no single right answer. Bitcoin's price has swung widely throughout its history, so a church that holds it must be ready to see its value drop, sometimes for a long time. Nothing here is investment advice.

Questions to settle before the first gift:

• What did the donor intend? Some bitcoin donors hope the church will hold. Others just want to give. Ask, and honor preferences where you can.
• How long could you wait? Only hold bitcoin you won't need for payroll or the light bill.
• How much, at most? You might set a cap, such as a share of reserves, and sell anything above it.
• Who decides to sell? Name the person or committee, and write down when they may do it.

How Should a Church Keep Bitcoin Safe?

Whoever holds the keys controls the bitcoin. If a key is lost, the bitcoin is gone. If one person holds the only key and leaves, the church has a problem. Plan for both.

• Choose who holds the keys. A regulated custodian or exchange holds them for you, which is simpler but means trusting that company. Self-custody means the church holds them, which takes more care.
• Never rely on one person. If you self-custody, use a multisignature ("multisig") wallet, where moving funds takes more than one key, for example two of three keys held by different leaders.
• Protect the backups. Each key has a recovery phrase. Store those phrases offline and apart from each other, and never photograph them or keep them in email.
• Test with a small amount. Receive and send a few dollars' worth before you publish an address.
• Plan for turnover. Write down, in a sealed and secure place, how the board regains access if a keyholder leaves or dies.
• Reconcile regularly. Someone other than the keyholders should confirm the balance every quarter, the same way you count the offering with two people.

What Should a Bitcoin Gift Acceptance Policy Include?

One or two pages, approved by your board, covering:

1. Which assets you accept (bitcoin only, or other cryptocurrencies too).
2. Whether you convert gifts right away or hold them, and any limit on how much you hold.
3. How you receive gifts: which platform, wallet, or payment page.
4. Who holds keys, how many are needed to move funds, and how backups are stored.
5. Who may authorize a sale or a transfer, and how it's recorded.
6. How you acknowledge gifts and what records you keep, as set with your CPA.
7. How you handle donor preferences and anonymous gifts.
8. When the policy will be reviewed.

What About Taxes and Receipts?

For U.S. tax purposes, the IRS treats digital assets as property, not currency (IRS: Digital assets (opens in a new tab)). That affects how donors value their gifts and what a church must do to acknowledge and report them. The IRS answers charities' questions about acknowledgment and reporting in its virtual currency FAQ, questions 34 to 37 (opens in a new tab).

We aren't tax advisors, and the rules have details that depend on your situation. Please talk to your CPA before you accept your first gift, and send your donors to their own tax advisor.

How Has Brilliance Labs Helped Churches Receive Bitcoin?

In late 2024, Brilliance Labs, Thank God for Bitcoin (opens in a new tab), and Magnalia Foundation teamed up to help Christian bitcoiners give bitcoin to their church or favorite ministry. By December 2024 we had helped more than a dozen ministries set up to receive and hold bitcoin donations. The program matched a ministry's first bitcoin gifts, up to 210,000 sats, if the ministry held them for at least nine months. That round is closed. You can read how it worked.

If you're a missions agency trying to move money to workers overseas, that's a different problem. See Bitcoin for Missions and our guide to sending bitcoin to missionaries.