It hasn’t been that long since the arrival of Bitcoin. However, the story about the first purchase using digital currency has already become somewhat of a legend. In case you don’t remember, in May of 2010, when Bitcoin was worth a measly US $ 0.08, a developer named Laszlo Hanyecz wrote on the Bitcoin Forum about using 10,000 BTC to pay for a couple of pizzas.
Fast forward seven years, and we’re not at all surprised by some random guy buying a Lamborghini with part of his bitcoin holdings. Or a property developer announcing the successful sale of two houses, both of which were bought with crypto by men in their 20s for about £1,000,000 in total.
We can’t help but mention the number of Blockchain wallets: according to Statista, it has been growing since 2009, reaching almost 24 million wallet users at the end of March 2018.
All this activity hasn’t escaped the attention of businesses. Digital startups and forward-thinking franchises are beginning to accept cryptocurrency, while multinationals dabble in dreams of launching their own coins (Burger King introduced Whopper Coin to its Russian market in 2017 and Telegram is set to announce its crypto soon).
However, all cases mentioned above remain dispersed and fragmented. Thus, tied up in the mind-boggling complexities of computer science, cryptocurrency still is not an easy concept to understand. Nevertheless, if experts are right about its mainstream potential, early adopters will reap all the benefits. As we know, the most flexible of them are owners of small and medium businesses.
Low fees, fast transactions, and the impossibility of fraud could become the main ways of making a profit for entrepreneurs. Although there is no infrastructure in the world, which allows users to make instant payments without waiting for a new block to be mined, the future is just around the corner and advancements are coming.
“Already, payment transactions could be as simple as generating a QR code for each transaction at the till which can then be scanned using a mobile 'wallet' in which cryptocurrency is held”, explains Sudip Banerjee, Paytomat chief analyst. As you may already know, so far our solution processes cryptocurrency payments for 100-plus small businesses in Ukraine. "We started with small cafés, then restaurants, and now we're working with online food delivery companies,” adds Banerjee.
At the same time, adding Paytomat solution to your business is not just a way to replace cash or add a crypto-payment option to your POS system. As practice shows, crypto is still perceived by customers as something innovative – proof that business can move forward with the times.
Add to these arguments loyalty programs, and crypto-payments will get completely new value. Farewell coupons, complex apps and discount starbursts! Blockchain possibilities allow any customer to receive a reward simply for buying goods or services right in their crypto-wallet. But, wait. It’s not just about the clients. The merchant also gets their bounty thanks to Paytomat mechanism.
Of course, opponents might object that accepting or trading in cryptocurrency does not come without risk. The same volatility that has generated headlines and new investors round the world for Bitcoin will also sit on the balance sheet of a business that accepts it as payment. In the end, were Nakamoto to cash in his Bitcoins in one fell swoop the entire market would crash. No other form of currency is so beholden to one single person.
It's the reason Paytomat currently offers to immediately provide to its business customers an exchange into regular currency, removing the risk. Though Banerjee mentions, the more people have a stake in cryptocurrency and use it for everyday transactions, the faster the bubble will deflate, and it will become less volatile.
According to Forbes predictions, this will be the year that more unknown cryptocurrencies double in value. How many will quadruple in value is anybody's guess. Therefore, a business that accepts the new reality will benefit.
