The online pharmacy offers a 10% discount for bitcoin customers. All due warnings are made though concerning the risks of dealing with cryptocurrency.

The American outlet of the Hong Kong online medicine distribution company considers the offer to be a good stimulus for using cryptocurrency in online trade.

Despite the statement, the company is patently uneasy about accepting payments in bitcoin: the apothecary warns customers not to buy or store the cryptocurrency until they receive an email with an exact quote of the purchase with the amount of bitcoin needed.

“This way you are only holding the bitcoins for a short period of time, and are more protected from any potential bitcoin wallet security issues,” the company’s website says.

The company runs a number of localised web stores, including those for Russia and the UK. UnitedPharmacies allows customers to buy any medication without a prescription, which is considered illegal in the USA. Because of this, in 2013, the company had to stop accepting credit card payments, the only available options left are international bank transfers and cashier’s cheques. It may partly explain the company’s interest in bitcoin.