Which popular businesses are accepting cryptocurrency as payment?
BY READERS DIGEST
5th Jan 2022 Technology
Cryptocurrency is no new concept to the world. Millions of people all around the world already have begun investing in prominent cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
This list includes several big shots like Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc, and so on. To be precise, he has dumped millions of dollars into Bitcoin. This fuelled several bigger businesses and individuals to take up this investment practice. Moreover, applications like https://bitcoinsup.org/ have further simplified the process of Bitcoin transactions. Here’s a list of the most prominent business organizations across the globe that have started adopting cryptocurrency as a payment option for all their goods and services.
Microsoft
The giant of the software world, Microsoft, recently announced that the business would begin accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. This move is observed as the company’s way of telling people that cryptocurrencies are the future of currency and that they are reliable. Users can now utilize their Bitcoins to make payments in several services, including Skype and Xbox Live.
MasterCard
The commercial biggie MasterCard too, announced that it would enable its users to execute transactions in cryptocurrency with the help of a digital wallet. Moreover, the company would also offer loyalty rewards to the users in cryptocurrency. This was seen as a revolutionary move since the MasterCard crypto rewards would be a lot more beneficial to the users than their traditional loyalty points.
Whole Foods
Whole Foods made a revolutionary move by employing Flexa, crypto, and cash converting technology. Flexa functioned by converting Bitcoin into money in a hassle-free way, with the help of a payment scanner. This was a big shift since Whole Foods was one of the biggest retail businesses accepting cryptocurrency for payment.
PayPal
PayPal is undoubtedly a business concern that pioneered contemporary digital payment. PayPal was among the first companies to adopt the revolutionary currency idea. At that time, cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, was considered a transaction system without the scrutiny of a government and other regulatory bodies. People across the world were unaware of the potentials of the currencies, and this move came about as a ground-breaking one. PayPal's move was aimed at companies rather than consumers. The main motive behind why PayPal supported the idea of cryptocurrency is that transactions made using crypto or Bitcoin were a lot cheaper. The intermediary or the middleman fee paid to banks for every transaction was eluded, which is why this provision was possible.
Lush
Lush is a globally acclaimed handmade cosmetics brand that took the crypto path on its payment methods. The company in 2017, allowed its customers to place orders for their products and make payments for them in cryptocurrency. Lush made a coalition with a payment gateway called Bitpay to execute this move.
Etsy
This website is one of the most popular and widely used for entrepreneurs or individuals who wish to display their products, services, or talents on an organized platform. Although the platform does not permit users to make payments for the website enrolment, the individual users can enable their consumers to do so. This is a revolutionary shift because cryptocurrency can now be used to trade in small businesses and between individuals. The seller can send their Bitcoin public key to the customer to transfer their payments to the individual seller.
Starbucks
The company has been experimenting with cryptocurrency payment options for a long time now. After prolonged considerations, Starbucks has now enabled its consumers to pay for their drinks and other products using their exclusive crypto app, Bakkt. The move became extremely popular, and thousands of people took up the chance to put the payment method to the test.
Home Depot
Home Depot has also employed the Flexa technology, which enabled Whole Foods to take Bitcoin payments using digital scanners. Retailers must present financial statements in USD, regardless of the payment method they receive. This was a big stumbling stone for companies that wanted to enable Bitcoin payments for their consumers. But the Flexa technology converts crypto to actual money in USD. This way, both the retailer and the consumer is benefitted. Hence, Home Depot too did not have to deal with the risk of accepting crypto payments.
Visa
This was another giant move in favor of cryptocurrencies. Visa now accepts the cryptocurrency called USDC. This crypto has an equivalent value to that of the US dollar.
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