Would you consider accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for your business?
Would love to get your thoughts about Bitcoin, whether or not you like it, whether you think it has real potential or if it's just a gimmick.
Do you have any experience with Bitcoin? Have you bought any for yourself or considered accepting it as a form of payment for your business? What problems have you had with it, and what worries you about it?
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Jul 27, 2015
I wouldn't. But that is just a personal thing with me. Heck l barely trust money! No longer do we carry cash. It's all electronic and I don't care what you "think:" you're money isn't really your money until some machine lets you have it.
Ever read the document you signed when you opened a bank account??
mass
Jul 25, 2015
I gave up the idea once I realized the legal status of Bitcoin is not certain in India at this point.
Jul 23, 2015
Since having a Bitcoin account doesn't cost you, I would tell you to have it as a backup plan. Unfortunately, this mode of payment hasn't taken off, and it is very volatile in the market at the moment making it difficult to point of reference as value. Also take into consideration that if you do accept it, how can you exchange the currency to something more world wide utilized.
So, in a business perspective it doesn't make sense to publicly accept Bitcoins, unless asked for.
Jul 23, 2015
Granted I do not know enough about it but I would not. I rather take PayPal, bank check, postal money order.
Jul 23, 2015
I am very old school. I have not heard enough news stories that would give me a reason to get involved with it. Electronic media is in our daily uses, but with all the hacker activity, I would not trust it.
Jul 23, 2015
No, unless a truly amazing reason were given for its use like a consulting contract with a company in Greece.
Jul 23, 2015
I would like to better understand it. I have heard a great many things about how volatile the currency value is. As is understandable, considering there is no regulation, but how exactly can anyone count on the validity of it? I'm stumped.
Jul 23, 2015
I have a very deep background in bitcoin, from blockchain development, to payment intigration, to articles I have published and mining. There is nothing gimmicky about bitcoin (http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/198650/Morgan_Spurlock__Living_On_Bitcoin__The_Inside_Man_Bitcoin_CNN_Full_Documentary/) here is an episode of Inside Man with Morgan Spurlock, filmed last year around this time. it does a good job of introducing bitcoin and its use as a currency. This was filmed 1 yr ago so times have changed, the price has declined to a more non volitle range and the investment dollars into the space over the past 3 years is about to break $1,000,000,000 - a majority of this coming from the top silicon valley VCs - can you say internet part 2?
As a merchat accepting bitcoin will give you a great opportunity to attract the advocates to your place of business. I know for myself if I have a urge for a tasty burrito and there are two near me, 1 is 2 miles and takes bitcoin, the other one is right in front of me but does not. Im heading to spend my bitcoin.
Personally I have purchased or paid for travel, food, drink, rental paid bills, salaries, contractors - all with bitcoin. The lower fees and no chargeback risks are a huge bonus, and the current systems like coinbase and bitpay provide a very easy to use and set up wallet that can provide liquidity minus the volitility risk. Bitcoin is a win win! Go for it, feel free to reach out via linkedin if you have any needs on intigration or consultaion further.
Jul 24, 2015
In addition, from a high-level perspective, US/World governments likely want to do whatever they can to slow down the growth of bitcoins as one of their biggest uses right now is for illegal activity. This feels like it makes bitcoins inherently riskier.
Jul 24, 2015
And I find your burrito analogy interesting. I get that you'd support the bitcoin merchant for ideological reasons. But for others that have no vested stake in the game, what's the benefit of paying with bitcoin vs. traditional means? I don't care if Amex or the NSA tracks my burrito purchase as long as it's the best possible option. And to clarify... I'm not against bitcoins. I just think every debate has shades of grey.
Jul 23, 2015
Only if I knew that my suppliers/vendors would accept it as payment for goods and services. I certainly would limit my exposure to using it as pay-roll, rent and income taxes have to be paid in US tender or cash.
Jul 23, 2015
I don't know enough about it, and thus don't feel safe accepting it at this time. If that puts me behind my competitors so be it, the risk just seems to great and I'd rather wait until it's more mainstream.
Jul 23, 2015
It seems it is not a transaction free / free spirit currency. You pay a commission to buy BItcoin, and again a fee when you sell and turn it back to cash - a bit like Gold in that regard. The guys making a cut of the action from the buying and selling seemed to be doing the best out of this highly speculative and volatile currency. Certainly no where near what one could call a standard and socially accepted payment method, but time will tell. For that reason, I am out - at least for the short term!
Jul 22, 2015
I am convinced that banks and governments did everything that was within their power to prevent the bitcoin from growing. It was real easy to manipulate the markets that just got up. The bitcoin was (and is) some very smart way to transfer virtual values from A to B. Virtual values that get real meaning on the exchange markets. The sub coin culture made it more accessible for the smaller investors. I had acquired a modest amount of BTC and transferred it into several million of several kind of newer sub coins, but lost interest one year ago. As the exchange rates were going up and down and as it was all still BTC related (and was also going up and down as well). Being an early adapter I could have made nice money in the beginning. I decided not to do anything and just see were we were heading. Today, I seem to have calculate a serious loss. But loss is only made when you actually sell. So I keep 'm all in stock. We are about now where we once started. Not touched with some hype any more. I still like the idea of virtuality. The reliability of the exchange markets have been violated seriously. My suggestion, wait and see what happens next. Early adapting can make you a fortune, but you have to calculate losses too. For me the money was never a goal on its own. It was about participating, to see where we were going. Just the adventure. Did I enjoy it? I liked, no more. But perhaps the journey continues one day. I would suggest you travel to another destination. A negative traveling advice is still applicable here. So my answer has to be; NO. Unless you want to become part of something relatively new that still has to be settled in a proper way. But given the fact that so far it has not met the expectations yet. But neither has gold. So what can we expect here? We can only hope. But banks and governments are not very eager to shift away from their current modeling. So it will be a slow process. Very slow. At least not the launch speed it once knew. That was hype induced. But I love to see launches. Apollo 13, considered a failure, turned out to be a succes in the end. Expectations have to be adjusted all the time it seems. And so we do.
Jul 24, 2015
Good points about bitcoins being in their early stages. I think they have potential but I don't think their time is now. And interesting quote: "I am convinced that banks and governments did everything that was within their power to prevent the bitcoin from growing." I get this feeling, too. And another angle to think about is whether some other kind of digital currency will surpass bitcoins.
Jul 22, 2015
I'm a web developer so I'm coming from more of the technical side than the financial side.
I have very limited experience with Bitcoins. A few years back I messed around and bought some Bitcoins and they ended up nearly doubling in value. So I guess that makes it a positive experience for me, haha. I also asked a question about it back then: http://www.mosaichub.com/answers/question/are-bitcoins-safe-to-buy
From a theoretical/academic/libertarian perspective, I love the concept of a secure, independent payment system. But I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using Bitcoin yet. I'm not ultra-educated on a lot of the specifics, but I'd wonder about things like: Can a hacker steal my money? Will I lose track of my code and lose my money? Is the Bitcoin market stable? Will my Bitcoins dramatically decrease in value? And is there much of a benefit to pay with Bitcoins vs. paying with a credit card?
So I probably won't be purchasing more Bitcoins any time soon. And I imagine the general public with less technical experience may have even more worries than somebody who's somewhat familiar with them.
Jul 22, 2015
I never gave it a minutes thought and don't plan to. There are so many ways a customer can pay that I see no reason to be interested in bitcoin and to be honest I don't trust it all that much. Perhaps once it gets more accepted I might think about it but for now, no way.
I'll have to watch that documentary and learn more about bitcoins. And from a merchant perspective, the idea of a lower fee system sounds awesome. But you also have to see the other side of things. First off, the bitcoin market is still wildly volatile. In 2 years it's gone from a min value of $94 to a max value of $1,151: https://blockchain.info/charts/market-price?timespan=2year&showDataPoints=false&daysAverageString=1&show_header=true&scale=0&address=