ProtonMail, a Switzerland-based end-to-end encrypted email service, has revealed it’s been ‘hodling’ the bitcoin it received in donations and payments for its service over the years.

Replying to a Twitter user who claimed to have paid his ProtonMail invoice using the flagship cryptocurrency and felt guilty about it, the company replied it was going to hodl the funds for the user, as it hasn’t sold any of its BTC for years and doesn’t plan on doing so.

When another social media user asked ProtonMail for proof it hasn’t been selling its BTC, the firm revealed that giving it would reveal too much about its operations and isn’t advisable for security.

The encrypted email provider has been accepting bitcoin since 2014, and started doing so after online payments giant PayPal started cracking down on it, freezing $270,000 it raised via a crowdfunding campaign in limbo. Notably, cryptocurrencies have seen positive performances this month, after PayPal blocked Pornhub’s payments for models via its platform.

In its replies ProtonMail noted BTC “played an important role” in its business at the time, and has been holding onto it since. Its listed bitcoin address has, over the course of 3,300 transactions, seen 216 BTC flow through it, currently worth around $1.8 million.

Most of that BTC has been moved to other wallets, likely as ProtonMail secures its funds and keeps them away from hackers. The wallet has 3.9 BTC in it at press time, worth around $32,800.

Featured image by Austin Distel on Unsplash.