- Understand how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin work and how they affect financial innovation.
- Consumer interest in crypto and blockchain, and the digital transactions revolution, are driving financial expansion.
- What are the benefits of using cryptocurrencies and how will these drive financial expansion in 2023.
Recent years have seen widespread media coverage of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Stellar, making it impossible to ignore their impact on the average person. How does the widespread use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology affect online businesses, if at all?
Understanding bitcoin, how it works with the public blockchain, and how these new technologies are expected to affect e-commerce businesses is important as the fight to make cryptos a viable alternative to traditional finance continues.
In the same manner that online billing channels facilitated e-commerce, and that PayPal as well as other third-party billing distributors ventured in to offer substitute funding choices, the e-commerce sector should now consider the advent of virtual currency and the implications of accepting this mode of payment.
The blockchain is the open, decentralized database it contains that keeps track of all cryptocurrency activities. When e-commerce businesses use blockchains, they get a number of benefits, such as better data security, streamlined operations, and lower costs.
There has been a rise in the number of merchants accepting Bitcoin as payment for products and services as the cryptocurrency craze has spread. As this shift takes place, the significance of Bitcoin and the blockchain to the world of online trade cannot be denied. E-commerce companies may greatly benefit from foresight into the potential outcomes of this technology.
Let’s start with some background on blockchain technology and cryptocurrency and how they could affect and be used by an online retailer.
Recognizing blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies
If you want to buy anything online, you could use cryptocurrency. Unlike government-issued money, the value of this commodity is based on the native blockchain. Due to the decentralized nature of cryptos and the fact that laws are gradually being implemented, the once wildly fluctuating cryptocurrency markets have become somewhat more stable.
A distributed online ledger equipped with robust encryption is used to protect business dealings conducted online.
Most distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) employ blockchain, although there are others. Blockchain is an innovative technological framework, not a language or a program. It’s an immutable digital ledger that keeps track of all the money that changes hands in a certain area. Users can safely trade and keep virtual commodities like bitcoins. Payments done using cryptocurrencies are made practical and secure in this way.
Consumers’ increasing interest in cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin may have been the initial cryptocurrency, but today there are more than 4,000 others you can buy. Many people now use the name “Bitcoin” interchangeably with “cryptocurrency” or “digital currency.”
Bitcoin’s limited supply is one of its main selling points. Bitcoin, like gold, is a scarce commodity. Many speculate that Nakamoto deliberately set out to create an inflation-proof digital currency with Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not, therefore, the exclusive finite-supply option. The number of Litecoins, Stellar Lumens, and IOTA currencies in circulation is also finite.
Cryptocurrency is used by customers in every region of the globe, while its acceptance varies widely by region. This phenomenon is compatible with economies that rely heavily on mobile shopping yet have limited access to conventional banking infrastructure. It makes sense that e-commerce merchants that embrace cryptocurrencies as a means of payment may find success in expanding their reach into previously untapped markets.
Digital money transactions
More and more businesses are starting to accept bitcoin as payment as public confidence in cryptocurrencies grows.
When the Xbox online shop started accepting Bitcoin, Microsoft became one of the earliest major firms to do so. Overstock.com, one of the most well-known US e-commerce sites, now accepts cryptocurrencies.
Some of the earliest businesses ever to accept cryptocurrencies were based in Great Britain, and that includes Shopify, Etsy, and even the cosmetics brand Lush. Despite recently proposing the development of its unique proprietary currency, Amazon has yet to accept cryptos as payments.
Explaining the process of crypto payment processing to retailers
However, despite its futuristic appearance, Bitcoin is very genuine and easy to adopt as a payment alternative for online merchants. It’s possible that Bitcoin would be added to the payment methods that most online stores already use.
It is now easy to anyone to buy Bitcoin, and for businesses and online stores, the easiest way to start taking cryptocurrency payments is through a bitcoin payment system.
Every item’s listed cost in fiat currency is automatically translated to its equivalent in cryptocurrency whenever a customer chooses cryptocurrency as their payment option. The transfer is then processed securely by a payment system in the same way that any other transaction would be, except that it is saved on the blockchain.
This implies that the record of the monetary exchange will exist in the ledger forever and can’t be changed. Merchants and customers alike might benefit from this if they wish to maintain track of transactions over the long haul without keeping paper receipts.
Online merchants that want to accept cryptocurrency and blockchain payments will likely need to switch to a payment processor that supports these alternative monies. In addition, there are always options for buying cryptocurrency, such as the Bitcoin Era. When choosing a payment gateway, e-commerce retailers should check to see whether it is interoperable with the CMS they employ.
Perks of accepting cryptocurrencies
There are several benefits to allowing bitcoin payments in online stores. Here are the four most significant advantages:
A cryptocurrency transaction cannot be reversed.
Transactions made using cryptocurrencies are immune to refunds. Since refunds are costly (both financially and in terms of the risk they pose to a merchant’s account) and time-consuming (both to resolve and prevent), this is good news for online stores. There is no way to undo a payment after it has been processed since it will be recorded on the blockchain.
Minimal costs are attached to crypto transactions.
As unbelievable as it may seem, certain cryptocurrencies have very low processing costs. In terms of transaction costs, XLM is the most cost-effective cryptocurrency. There will be more customers willing to use your services once they know you accept cryptocurrencies.
People are looking for methods to spend the cryptocurrency they extracted or the income they made from trading in virtual money as its demand grows. Companies that accept cryptocurrency payments will benefit from this rapidly expanding industry.
Clients might be attracted to your business more easily if you accept cryptocurrency payments. The ability to pay with Bitcoin and other digital currencies has piqued the interest of many customers, who are more likely to patronize a store that accepts this payment method.
Final thoughts
The blockchain, as was previously said, is an immutable digital ledger that stores financial transactions in an immutable manner. Cryptocurrencies may be transferred and stored safely thanks to blockchain technology. Each successful payment triggers the publication of a new block on the blockchain.
The blockchain links records together to build a chain of transactions. A transaction on the blockchain is created whenever a client makes a cryptocurrency payment. The cryptographic information will be checked against a database to ensure it has never been used before. Since the network keeps track of each activity on the blockchain, the information stored there cannot be erased, changed, or damaged.