Dell has become the largest ecommerce company to accept bitcoin in the UK after striking a deal with bitcoin wallet firm Coinbase.

Dell began accepting the currency in the UK last night after claiming to have run a successful pilot of the currency in the US.

The biggest purchase made with bitcoin on Dell’s website has been a PowerEdge server system costing over $50,000. However, Dell would not reveal how many of its total US sales have involved bitcoin.

Dell chief information officer Paul Walsh said: “Through the expansion of Bitcoin we’re enabling new levels of convenience for our customers, making it easier for them to do business with Dell.”

In order to pay with bitcoin on the Dell website, users can select it as a payment type when making a purchase.

Fred Ehrsam, co-founder at Coinbase, said: “Dell is now the largest merchant to accept bitcoin internationally, paving the way for retailers around the world to follow suit. It’s another big step towards expanding bitcoin acceptance worldwide.

“There are many advantages of using bitcoin for merchants, such as lower transaction fees and zero chargebacks, greatly reducing fraud costs. For consumers, there are no fees for international payments and its more secure form of payment since they are not sharing any credentials.”