Find out where you can make purchases using cryptocurrencies and their growing relevance
More than 2300 businesses in the US accept Bitcoin today. This is because the adoption of cryptocurrency has a wide range of financial benefits. Cryptocurrency comes with low or no transaction fees and does not have a fluctuating exchange rate as legal tender does.
While transactions via traditional banks may take up to a day to reflect, cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin, have a much faster processing speed. Additionally, the ability to increase the customer base for one’s business and to save oneself from the 2-5% transaction charges levied by banks has also made crypto an attractive proposition to businesses.
Not sure where to spend your Bitcoin? Here are some businesses that have adopted cryptocurrencies in tech, food retailing and the e-commerce sector.
Bitcoin in tech
Some of the early adopters of cryptocurrency in the field include the tech giant, Microsoft. The company has been accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for its Windows and Xbox stores since 2014. For a brief period of time in 2018, the company halted Bitcoin transactions due to it being an “unstable currency“. However, it currently allows the currency to be used for the purchase of a wide variety of services such as One Drive, Skype and Microsoft 365.
Microsoft’s tech-rival company Apple also accepts cryptocurrencies on their Apple Pay app. It supports the BitPay wallet. It allows cryptocurrencies including Ether and Bitcoin Cash, as well as dollar-pegged stable coins like USD Coin, Gemini Dollar, Paxos Standard and Binance USD.
Bitcoin in food retailing
Even in the realm of fast food, companies like Burger King have been trying to incorporate the currency into their payment system. In 2017, Burger King Russia even experimented with launching their own cryptocurrency called “Whopper Coin” powered by Waves’ distributed ledger network.
In November 2020, Pizza Hut Venezuela also announced that it would accept Bitcoin. Another key player in the realm of food retailing is Coca-Cola Amatil. The company is responsible for distributing Coca-Cola in the Asia-Pacific region. Coca-Cola Amatil partnered with Centrapay to allow Bitcoin as a payment option in over 2000 vending machines in the region.
Accepting cryptocurrency seems to be a natural next step in the direction of the cashless economy. The move towards cryptocurrencies allows more flexibility to the customer to pay using whichever payment method they see fit.
Bitcoin in E-commerce
E-commerce stores such as Rakuten, Inc have also incorporated cryptocurrency into their payment systems. As of this year, users of Rakuten’s cryptocurrency wallet can exchange Bitcoin, Ether, and Bitcoin Cash for “Rakuten Cash” which can be used to pay on its app or changed for its point credit card.
On a similar note, the Canadian e-commerce website Shopify has started accepting payments in 1,800 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin. The American E-commerce website Etsy has also adopted this payment method. While it currently does not have its own in-built system to accept crypto, vendors can specify the acceptance of Bitcoin by enabling the “Other” method in the finances section on the website’s shop manager.
E-Commerce websites benefit the most from accepting cryptocurrency transactions. This is because cryptocurrencies eliminate the threat of stolen credit card numbers. When paying in cryptocurrencies, both parties involved have to approve the transaction. This ensures additional safety for their customers. More so, cryptocurrencies open up the possibility of accessing the international market space because they remove foreign transaction fees out of the equation.
Future of cryptocurrency
While it may be a challenging move due to the unpredictability of Bitcoin prices, companies are rapidly adopting the payment method.
Adoption of cryptocurrency offers companies increased visibility, the benefits of which are tough to ignore. With the users of cryptocurrencies looking for places to spend their money, adopting them as a payment method can help companies get new customers. According to a research conducted by Forrester Consulting, nearly 40% of customers who pay with crypto are new customers. This goes to show that there is more to cryptocurrency than just a bubble waiting to burst.
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