Walmart now indirectly accepting bitcoin via Gyft

Mobile gift-card app provider Gyft had pulled something of a retail-store coup, officially adding retail giant Walmart to its merchant list. This slightly indirect buying method means that bitcoin-bearing shoppers can use their cryptocurrency at all Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in the U.S. (roughly 5,000 locations), although it is not clear if the cards are accepted at Walmart-owned stores in other countries.

Gyft currently supports Walmart cards ranging from $25 to $500 in value.

While a bump in bitcoin-bought gift card transactions are unlikely to make even a blip on Walmart’s radar (the company made and estimated $325 billion in the U.S. in 2012 alone), it does indicate a growing interest in bitoin (or at least benign tolerance of it) in mainstream business. The impact on Gyft, howevever, could be massive.

In a recent blog post, Gyft CEO Vinny Lingham noted that the company’s bitcoin transactions have allowed the company to sell some $50 million in gift cards in a mere 18 months. That’s a tiny fraction of the estimated $125 billion gift card market, but considering that bitcoin has only been on the pop culture radar for less than a year, it’s a significant fraction.

Gyft already supports a huge array of mainstream companies, including retailers like Target, Whole Foods and CVS. The company also accepts mainstream payment methods, such as credit cards and PayPal, but notably gives bitcoin equal placement on their payment pages.