First things first: Bitcoin IS for merchants. Accepting Bitcoin is only logical. The first order of business is to sell, and a new form of payment will probably help in that regard. Especially if we’re talking about Bitcoin, the future of money and the most important innovation in that field since humans found gold. However, nothing is ever that easy.
After Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto’s mythical whitepaper reads: “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” Your client can be one of those peers, your business can be the other, and the rest is electronic cash. Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. Accepting Bitcoin has many advantages, but there are obstacles on the way. Are you willing to take on the challenge? Is accepting Bitcoin the right move for you?
Blink is here to help. In the following article, we’ll pose the case for accepting Bitcoin in your business, and then we’ll tell you about the considerations every merchant thinking about making the move should have in mind. After reading it, you’ll be able to make an informed choice.
Shoutout to Adrián Treviño AKA Visionario BTC for the idea for the article and for coming up with some of the reasons we’ll cover down bellow.
Is Accepting Bitcoin For You?
Hate to break it to you, but your money is depreciating. Wherever you are, as you’re reading these lines, you can be sure your government and banks are inflating the money supply. This, in turn, devaluates the money in your pocket. Even if you seek refuge in stronger currencies, those are depreciating as well, just at a slower pace. It’s the nature of the fiat game. The whole system is built on that premise.
Bitcoin is different. Bitcoin is built to last. There will only be 21 million BTC, and the system releases the remaining supply at regular intervals. There is no way to print more. That’s the reason Bitcoiners say “One Bitcoin is one Bitcoin,” the coins in your wallet will not be inflated away by a central authority.
And, for once, small merchants have an advantage over the big players.
For a corporation, accepting Bitcoin is much more than adopting a new form of payment. If a corporation decides to do it, it would probably have to perform structural changes and adapt to a whole new way of life. Small and medium enterprises are in a different position. Forward-thinking merchants could start accepting Bitcoin in an afternoon.
Should they, though? That’s what we’re here to find out. However, and this is important: Bitcoin can be a way to speed up your transactions, to streamline your operations, and be an investment at the same time. Let’s learn why and how.
Eleven Reasons For Accepting Bitcoin
- Bitcoin is complex and simple at the same time. From the user's perspective, you could be accepting Bitcoin in a few minutes. Download Blink, register with just an email or phone number, click “Settings,” then “Point of Sale,” and create a Lightning invoice for your customer to scan and pay. Low cost and as easy as 1, 2, 3.
- The lowest fees around. Lightning transactions are instant and almost free. Your employees could also get tips that way, the fees are that low.
- The Lightning Network offers cash-like privacy. Do what you will with that information. Remember, Bitcoin is pseudonymous. There is no personal identity attached to transactions, which leads us to:
- Identity-theft protection. Credit and debit cards offer too much information, and bad actors constantly exploit that point of failure. Protect your client and yourself by accepting Bitcoin through the Lightning Network.
- Bitcoin offers final settlement at the moment of transaction, so chargebacks are not possible. On the contrary, if a credit card company finds a complaint valid, it takes the money out of the merchant's account, gives it back to the customer, and charges the merchant with a chargeback fee. For merchants that deal with this kind of shenanigans, this will be the defining characteristic that leads them to accept Bitcoin.
- Improve your cash flow. Payments settle immediately. After the transaction, the money is in your wallet. A merchant’s dream.
- As the leader of their operation, merchants have to be on top of business trends. Accepting Bitcoin will raise your brand’s profile as innovative and forward-thinking. Bitcoin is the future, and you’ll already be there.
- Easily receive International payments. Not every merchant can benefit from this, but if your business can, then accepting Bitcoin is a no-brainer. E-commerces, freelancers, and others can forget about currency conversion and receive and send cross-border transactions with the push of a button.
- Get new clients. Attract the local Bitcoin community, tech-savvy buyers, and foreigners without access to banking services. Additionally, you could host or rent your space for Bitcoin meetups and tech events.
- Take a page from Michael Saylor and use the earned Bitcoin as your business’ strategic reserve. Holding some or all Bitcoin revenue as an investment could yield incredible returns. Be prepared to hold it for at least four years, though.
- Finally, if you're a Bitcoin enthusiast, by accepting Bitcoin in your business, you're promoting the everyday use of BTC and motivating curious customers to learn more about the subject.
Aditional Considerations
- The reasons above apply to countries with a working banking infrastructure in place. Not all countries are like that. If your business is located in a country with a large unbanked population, then you should definitely consider accepting Bitcoin.
- Offer to pay your employees in Bitcoin and see how that goes. If it works, they’ll thank you for it sooner or later.
- We’ll talk about volatility in the next section, but know this: If you decide to accept Bitcoin and use Blink to do it, we offer a stability solution called Stablesats. Use them to, for example, ensure your fixed costs are in a more stable currency. Another option is to use instant conversion services to transform your earned BTC to your local currency, but we recommend option A.
- If you’re lucky and your country is listed in Blink’s off-ramps map, your road to accepting Bitcoin is paved and ready for you.
Disadvantages Of Accepting Bitcoin
Let’s not kid ourselves, Bitcoin is not yet widely used, and there’s a learning curve for both you and your clients. Study your business’ market and determine if the juice is worth the squeeze. Also, accepting Bitcoin implies a higher degree of responsibility from the merchant who decides to do it. If something goes wrong, there’s no bank or credit card company said merchant can call. The power is in his or her hands.
Besides that, consider these factors.
- Price volatility: Bitcoin is in perpetual price discovery, which means it goes up and down. Use the previously mentioned tools to ensure your fixed costs are covered and get used to navigating the volatility.
- The technical implementation requires specialized knowledge. Use Blink to get into the game, but if your Bitcoin business grows, consider using a professional solution like BTCPay Server. Implementing it is not the easiest, but it might be worth it.
- Bitcoin doesn’t offer fraud protection. If you or your employees get scammed somehow, there’s no one you can call. Be informed and aware.
- Also, Bitcoin itself doesn’t offer merchant support. If you or your employees have any questions, the Internet is the only resource that can help you. (If you're using Blink, our support team is there to help at support@blink.sv of course)
- Custody and security are in your hands. Who has access to the business’ wallet? Who manages the Bitcoin finances? If the business grows, it’s convenient to move your funds to cold storage. Consult this article for clarity and advice on the subject.
- You’ll be responsible for integrating Bitcoin with the accounting system of your choice. Depending on what you decide to do with the BTC, this might prove difficult.
- Tax implications vary from country to country. Consult a professional before deciding to accept Bitcoin.
- Customer service is in your hands. Your employees will probably have to assist novice Bitcoiners on how to transact. Also, they should be able to answer all of the curious’ questions.
Conclusions
Accepting Bitcoin is not for everyone, but everyone should consider it. The business’ location, jurisdiction, and the merchant’s proficiency with technology are critical factors in the decision-making. Another factor to consider: the risk of not accepting Bitcoin if it indeed is the money of the future.
For merchants who decide to take on the challenge and accept Bitcoin, an important question arises: will you hold BTC on the balance sheet? If so, who will custody it? And how? If, on the contrary, the merchant decides to just accept Bitcoin and keep his or her finances in fiat money, things will be simpler, but… how will you justify to yourself that you had access to the best money ever created and just traded it for a lesser form of it?
In any case, there’s one last thing every merchant has to consider: this article just lays out the basic facts. Bitcoin is as beautiful as it is complex. If your business is going well, you would do well to spend a few hundred hours studying it and experimenting with it. Your future self will be forever grateful for your sacrifice.
