How to Pay With Crypto

Published July 2026 · Patriot Labs Research Team · ~7 min read

Paying with cryptocurrency sounds technical, but it's really just sending money from an app on your phone — closer to a Venmo transfer than to day-trading. For research-supply orders it's also the cleanest option on the table: it doesn't route through a card processor, nothing sensitive gets stored, and the payment goes straight from your wallet to ours. No card number, no middleman, no account details changing hands. That privacy and reliability is why most of our customers who go the crypto route stick with it.

How it works at Patriot Labs

Here's the part that's different from a lot of sites, and it's worth reading before you start. We don't ask you to send crypto blindly to an address posted on a checkout page. Instead, Patriot Labs runs on a simple order-request model: you place your order and pick your preferred payment method, and we email you back — usually within 24 hours — with the exact wallet address, the amount, and the network to use. You only send once you have that email in hand.

That extra step exists to protect you. It means the address you're paying comes to you directly from us, the amount is confirmed against live pricing, and you're told precisely which network to send on so nothing gets lost. In practice it adds a short wait and removes almost all the ways a first-timer can slip up.

The five steps

Start to finish, paying with crypto breaks down into five small steps. The first three you can do before you even check out.

• 1Get an app that holds Bitcoin. If you already use Robinhood, you're most of the way there — it buys and sends Bitcoin, and we walk through it step by step below. If you don't use Robinhood, Coinbase and Cash App are two other beginner-friendly options; all three are free and on the App Store and Google Play. Pick one and create your account. This is the only step that takes a few minutes; after this it's quick.
• 2Buy Bitcoin. Link a bank account or debit card inside the app and buy Bitcoin (BTC). You don't buy a whole coin; you buy a dollar amount, and the app converts it to a fraction of a Bitcoin. Buy the amount your order comes to plus a couple of dollars extra to cover the small network fee charged when you send. If you're not sure of the exact total yet, you can also do this step after we email your payment amount. (Prefer a different coin? We also take Ethereum and USDT — see which coin should I use.)
• 3Place your order and choose Bitcoin. Add your items, head to checkout, and under payment method select Bitcoin (BTC) — or Ethereum or USDT if that's what you bought. Not sure which you'll use? Pick “Let me know my options” and we'll walk you through it. Submit the request; you'll get an order ID on screen right away.
• 4Watch your email for payment instructions. Within about 24 hours we'll reply to the email you provided with everything you need: the wallet address to send to, the exact amount, and the network to use. Keep that email open for the last step. (If it's not in your inbox, check spam.)
• 5Send it from your wallet. Open your wallet app, tap Send, and either scan the QR code or copy-paste the address from our email. Enter the amount, double-check the network matches what we sent, and confirm. That's it — the payment is on its way, and we take it from there.

Paying with Bitcoin from Robinhood

Robinhood is the app a lot of people already have, and it does everything you need: you can buy Bitcoin in it and send that Bitcoin to an outside address — which is exactly what paying us requires. Here's the whole thing start to finish.

Two one-time things to know before you start, so nothing catches you off guard at the finish line. First, Robinhood makes you pass a quick identity check to turn on crypto transfers — it's usually instant but can take up to a few business days, so don't leave it for the last minute. Second, Bitcoin you buy with a linked bank account has to finish clearing before you can send it (buying with a debit card is faster). The simple fix for both: buy your Bitcoin a day or two before you actually need to pay.

Buying the Bitcoin

• 1In the Robinhood app, search for Bitcoin (BTC) and open it.
• 2Tap Buy, enter a dollar amount — your order total plus a couple of dollars for the network fee — and confirm. Robinhood converts it to a fraction of a Bitcoin for you.

Sending it to us (do this once you have our payment email with the address)

• 1From Home, tap Send (also reachable by opening your Bitcoin and choosing Send / Transfer).
• 2Choose Bitcoin as what you're sending.
• 3Scan the QR code from our email, or copy-paste the wallet address exactly as we sent it.
• 4Enter the amount from our email, then tap Review → Accept and Continue → Submit. Robinhood shows the network fee upfront; if you use “Send All,” that fee comes out of the total.
• 5Confirm with your Face ID, fingerprint, or PIN, and tap Done. That's it — your Bitcoin is on its way to us.

Robinhood sends Bitcoin on the Bitcoin network, which is exactly what our payment email will ask for — so there's no network to second-guess here. Once it confirms on the blockchain (usually 10 to 15 minutes), we process your order and follow up by email.

The one rule that matters: networks

If you remember only one thing from this guide, make it this. A wallet address travels on a specific “network,” and the coin you send has to travel on the matching one. Think of it like sending a package: the address is the street, and the network is the delivery service — hand it to the wrong carrier and it doesn't arrive. This is why we put the correct network right in your payment email instead of leaving you to guess. Read it, select that network in your wallet before you hit send, and you're set.

After you send, the network needs a little time to confirm the payment. USDT typically clears in a few minutes; Bitcoin usually takes around 10 to 15 minutes, occasionally a bit longer when the network is busy. We process your order the moment the payment confirms and follow up by email with the next steps.

Which coin should I use?

For most people we recommend Bitcoin (BTC). It's the most widely held coin, every beginner app — Robinhood, Coinbase, Cash App — buys and sends it, and there's only one network to worry about, so it's the hardest option to get wrong. Its price does move, so the app sends a fraction of a coin rather than a round number, but our payment email gives you the exact amount, so that's handled for you.

The other two work if you already hold them. Ethereum (ETH) behaves just like Bitcoin — buy it, send it to the address we email. USDT (Tether) is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, so one USDT is always about a dollar; the one catch is that USDT can travel on more than one network, so with USDT it's extra important to send on the exact network our email specifies. If you're brand new, stick with Bitcoin — it's the smoothest first experience.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need any crypto experience to pay this way? None. If you can send money on a banking app, you can do this. You download one free app, buy the amount your order needs, and send it to the address we email you. About ten minutes the first time, a minute or two after that.

Where do I get the wallet address to send to? You don't need one in advance. After you submit your order request, we reply by email — usually within 24 hours — with the exact address, amount, and network. You only send after you have that email.

Can I pay with Bitcoin from Robinhood? Yes — buy Bitcoin in Robinhood, then use Home → Send to send it to the address we email you (full walkthrough above). Two first-time notes: Robinhood makes you pass a one-time identity check to turn on crypto transfers, and Bitcoin bought with a linked bank account has to finish clearing before you can send it — so buy a day or two before you need to pay.

What if I send on the wrong network? That's the one real way to lose crypto, and it usually can't be reversed — which is exactly why our payment email spells out the correct network for you. Match it exactly and you're safe.

How long until my order is confirmed? Once you send, the network confirms the payment — usually a few minutes for USDT and around 10 to 15 minutes for Bitcoin. We process the order as soon as it clears.

Is paying with crypto safe? Yes. You're sending from your own wallet to an address we give you directly by email — no card numbers, no processor, no account details shared. Use the address and network from our email and it's a clean, private transaction.

All Patriot Labs products are sold for in-vitro research and laboratory use only. Not for human consumption. This guide is general payment help and is not financial advice; cryptocurrency values can change and transactions are typically irreversible, so always confirm the address and network from your Patriot Labs payment email before sending.