Newegg, the hugely popular online electronics retailer, has announced that Bitcoin will become an accepted method of payment on the site from now on. The company is using Bitcoin payment processor Bitpay to handle all orders that are placed; the processor is renowned for its reliability and scalability within the industry.

The move by Newegg not only grants their customers another form of payment, but also furthers the quest to legitimize the virtual currency. Bitcoin has become the choice of payment for many criminals online, and is often associated with illegal activity. One example of this is the notorious Silk Road - the world's largest online market for illegal goods - which was recently taken down by the FBI; the authorities gathered a total of over $128 million in Bitcoin.

The site allows payment from digital wallets hosted on the web - among other forms.

Despite the recent collapse of the popular Mt.Gox exchange, Bitcoin remains to be a widely used currency for sites that accept it. Just recently, Overstock announced that they would accept the currency, and they reigned in nearly a million dollars worth of the tender in the first month. Whether Newegg will experience the same success, only time will tell.

Source: Newegg via BusinessWire