Is Bitcoin Right for Your Business? 

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Posted: February 20, 2024
CEO Today
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It's becoming increasingly clear that Bitcoin usage isn't a sudden, short-lived fad but rather a technology trend that will keep providing benefits for businesses.

In increasing numbers, companies out there are using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for investment, operational, and transactional purposes with the hope of gaining a competitive advantage in the market. Some enterprises, including Tesla and MicroStrategy, have invested millions of dollars in Bitcoin, showcasing resilience in contrast to the more modest performance of other asset classes, such as gold. 

For the uninitiated, Bitcoin is a groundbreaking payment system created in 2009 that uses a peer-to-peer network, which verifies transactions through cryptography and records them on the public ledger, the blockchain. Its distinctiveness lies in the fact that Bitcoin isn't doesn't rely on a central authority for ledger management and balance tracking, meaning it's decentralized. Consider the fees and currency pairs offered when deciding where to buy Bitcoin. Payments are completed in a matter of minutes, costs are negligible or non-existent, and transactions are anonymous. 

Bitcoin fits in the checklist of criteria that can help a business grow, so let's find out if you really should accept Bitcoin payments. 

Some Of The Many Benefits of Bitcoin for Business 

You Never Pay to Receive Bitcoins 

Anyone can receive Bitcoin, so it doesn't matter if you've never traded cryptocurrency before. All you need is a Bitcoin wallet containing a private key or a seed; the key matches the wallet's address. A Bitcoin wallet can be desktop, mobile, web, and hardware, each with varying levels of security and ease of use. A cold wallet is a much better option than a hot wallet, but the transaction times take longer. If you want to convert the Bitcoins you receive into fiat currency immediately or trade them on an exchange, you'll be OK with an online wallet. 

It's always free to receive Bitcoins, and many wallets give you the freedom to control what is the appropriate fee to pay when spending cryptocurrency. The amount transferred is irrelevant when it comes to the costs, so it's possible to send 10,000 Bitcoins for the cost of one Bitcoin. You'll need to put in place policies and procedures and amend your governing documents to ensure compliance. Digitized transactions must be transparent to demonstrate a commitment to ethical practices. Transparency has emerged as a core financial imperative in the rapidly evolving business landscape. 

You Can Identify & Prevent Unauthorized Transactions by Fraudulent Actors 

Customers use chargebacks to avoid returning items and seeking a refund. Consequences include but aren't limited to unnecessary costs to the business and enabling some forms of illicit financial activity (e.g., money laundering). If your company accepts credit cards or PayPal, you'll encounter this problem at one point or another. Bitcoin transactions aren't subject to chargebacks because they're irreversible, so the cost of the deceit is no longer pushed onto the shoulders of the merchant. Bitcoin's blockchain system, mining, Proof of Work, difficulty, etc., make it computationally impossible to modify the history of transactions. 

You Don't Have to Level Up Your PCI Compliance

Accepting credit cards online requires enhanced security checks to adhere to the PCI (Payment Card Industry) standard. PCI compliance refers to the technical and operational rules businesses must follow to secure and protect credit card data. It helps reduce the likelihood that cardholders will have sensitive account information stolen. Ongoing negligence from small and mid-sized enterprises is making the situation worse. Bitcoin operations are more like cash in the sense that money can be exchanged without intermediaries. Bitcoin protects consumers from identity theft and fraud, so it's like cash but designed for the 21st century. 

It's still important to secure your wallet and payment requests, even if you don't bear the costs and responsibilities that come with processing proprietary information from credit cards. Two-factor authentication provides an additional layer of security for the funds by requiring verification before signing into your account, withdrawing Bitcoins, or sending Bitcoins. Stored in a safe place, the backup of your wallet can protect you against computer failure. Payment processing can be outsourced by using third-party APIs and services. You can program your applications to enter a safe mode if exchange rates are rapidly increasing or decreasing. 

You Can Give Your Business Some New Visibility

All businesses must grow and scale, making it imperative to have visibility. Bitcoin is expanding as a new form of money that's accepted worldwide, so saying yes to cryptocurrency payments is the best and simplest solution for your company to get new customers and give your business some new visibility. It's critical to find ways to stand out from the competition if you want to prevent customers from leaving. Every business accepts fiat money, but not every business accepts cryptocurrency, and that differentiation can attract new customers.  

As With Any Technology Change or Upgrade, It's Important to Have a Plan

Many speculate that digital payments like cryptocurrency will pave the way to a cashless society, so Bitcoin transactions will become exclusive soon enough. Modernizing financial systems can and should serve as an opportunity to review and eliminate inefficient processes. Bitcoin can create more value for your enterprise by delivering improved processes. Nonetheless, the success of your endeavour depends on thorough planning, so understand how you're going to implement your intention. Determine the overall strategy, identify champions for the effort across the organization, and establish what resources you'll need (above and beyond those you currently have). 

If you're ready to go beyond enabling cryptocurrency payments, pilot the use cases as you would with any new technology. It gives you the chance to actively engage with blockchain technology and make it a productive part of your daily work. You can start with the purchase of some Bitcoins, after which you can use them for some insignificant payments, following the thread. Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is the gateway to Web3, which will define the future of the consumer space. While both Bitcoin and Ethereum both use blockchain technology, their focus and applications are different. 

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