We Killed Bitcoin; But Here’s How Retailers Can Help.

The crypto market has been in the “developing” phase ever since I starting following it back in 2013.

Living in Europe, I have seen multiple shops initiate — then close — any payment options that involve cryptocurrencies.

Is this us to be blamed? Is it the government? Is it bankers and teachers?

No one knows.

But one thing’s for sure — the crypto “trading” market ain’t helping no one.

Specifically the development of cryptocurrencies.

Envisioned as a decentralized, borderless, peer-to-peer mode of transferring money, Bitcoin first appeared in 2008.

Then came Filecoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin.

The came Ethereum.

Then came the gazillion ICOs.

Then came the hoard of twitterati and authors who made “careers” in crypto-trading.

It was like the stock boom all over again. Rags-to-riches stories out of nowhere. Millionaire ICO investors bragging about their new new-found wealth in “Crypto World Tours”. “Tutorials” and guides in cryptocurrency investing, and whole Discord groups dedicated to the art of “crypto-trading”.

Suddenly, Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of a peer-to-peer currency was replaced by a peer-to-peer penny stock.

Even Vitalik might not be impressed. His platform creation was built for dApps, but used for building a retirement fund.

20-something college goers were having a field day. Some become rich investors, and some launched their own ICOs which raised millions of dollars.

And somewhere along these lines, we all killed the ideology of bitcoin. Bit by bit. Satoshi by Satoshi.

None of these ‘experts’ stopped to see where the cryptomarket is heading.

None of the ‘traders’ - who preach their belief in crypto - stopped to see that the rising prices are a self fulfilled prophecy.

No one even asked how was blockchain really implemented in the gazillion ICOs that came.

And some raised millions without a working product, without a wallet. But they did sell hopes.

No one asked “If you were such a staunch believer in cryptocurrencies. Why are you making money trading it ?”

With certainty, money is what people came in here for. And money drove the prices up and down so bad, that cryptocurrencies are not more than a mere investment tool.

Probably a decentralized, digital lottery ticket.

To bring some sanity to the world of cryptocurrencies, we gotta put the “payment” back in decentralized payments.

If you are a retailer, or know a retailer. Please read this and implement cryptocurrency payments in your shop really quick.

THE WORLD NEEDS YOU.

Become the pizza shop featured around the world accepting bitcoin for pizza.

Become the ethereum Hot Dog seller.

How about a Monero Lemonade?

There’s a number of ways, and benefits, that you’d get from accepting crypto.

The developers and software architects are the real ones building a decentralized world. Not the telegram “signal” group or trader you follow.

Join the purpose.

A purpose larger than yourself.

1. Say Bye-Bye to Paper Money.

By using Bitcoin, ETH, NANO, or any payment method — you essentially are saying no to paper money.

Think about the trees saved and CO2 unreleased when factories don’t pulp tree sap for governments to give a value to. Create a safe environment for yourself and the future generations.

Btw, some of them use cotton and plastic. And put a huge value to it.

On a non-Femina Miss World note — paper money is recklessly printed, on the WILL of governments.

Here’s how it works. Governments issue Fiat Money to you based on a “promise to pay the bearer a sum of equivalent money.”

Yup, a promise.

What if the government has borrowed too much money and is deeply in debt (does this sound familiar to anyone?) and it finally comes to realize it cannot pay.

Simple! They print more money.

Be smart and futuristic. Embrace Crypto.

2. Say Hello to visionaries and believers.

The shop of the future would cater to all races, castes, and ideologies; supporting one form of currency : decentralized.

Bitcoin may or may not survive, but another one will come take its place and be instant, fee-less, and secure (possibly NANO?).

This will help you get more customers locally and globally.

I have the internet grow from an idea, to a fad, to FUD, to disbelief in the technology, to PayPal appearing, and to everyone accepting PayPal.

And cryptocurrencies are somewhere in this loop, dancing between disbelief and FUD.

Somewhere in the world right, a guy sits hunched on his computer, building the next PayPal. The decentralized PayPal.

And I hope “crypto-traders” don’t get their hands on it -.-

3. Say Hello To Efficiency and Cost Effectiveness

Transaction costs of the kinds of digital remittances today are a pain in the A.

Imagine being a business man losing a dollar for every four products sold.

Now imagine him selling thousands of products a day.

And yes, shop owners do have a fee per transaction they process. This is around 0.25 cents.

Small amount no?

NO!

Over a year, this means $91,250 in transaction fees.

Over 11 years, this is $1 MILLION.

However, there are services and subscriptions out there which save this cost, cut it down by a third in some cases.

However, everything has a price. Every centralized organisation offering you a benefit in the short term has a long-term motive.

But with crypto- you might pay and transact for free.

Forever.

3. Say Hello To Instant Settlements

If you have run a shop, you must be aware of the time it takes to settle funds. Crypto makes your transaction real-time, instant, without the need of a centralized authority to tell you that your own money will be available for use a day from now.

Add to that blockchain’s immutability, and security.

5. Say Bye-Bye to Fraud

Credit fraud and missed-payments? None of it happens with cryptocurrencies.

With crypto. You either have money. Or you dont. There is no in-between, no credit.

Every transaction happening in the world goes inside the blockchain. Every transaction is some sort of a block. Every block is verified and secured.

Since there is no credit system here. A person buying your product really does have that money.

No cheque-bounces, no fake notes.

6. Say Hello World !

Seriously do!

Every business owner I speak with has one problem when it comes to expanding international — the cost of transactions.

King Krypto doesn’t differentiate. It knows only the language of transferring value for free.

No costs here. No overheads. The only cost is your set-up fee.

We killed Bitcoin, but let it die no more.

Start USING cryptocurrencies where ever you can.

Are you ready to embrace the future?

If you are reading this — Congrats! you made it till the end of my little article.

I am not a developer or coder or Satoshi Nakamoto. All thoughts here are my own unless otherwise mentioned.

Hold that clap button down for 50 claps?

It motivates me to write more and bring to you the latest crypto developments, news, and nitty-grittys.

Cheers!

We Killed Bitcoin; But Here’s How Retailers Can Help. was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.