I've been discouraged the last few years by how few people turned on bitcoin payment options.
What do you think has been the primary cause behind that ?
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I've been discouraged the last few years by how few people turned on bitcoin payment options.
What do you think has been the primary cause behind that ?
I don't know, but I have some ideas. I've blogged about bitcoin many times, including on our company blog here:
http://www.foxycart.com/blog/why-does-foxycart-support-bitcoin
http://www.foxycart.com/blog/why-shouldnt-you-accept-bitcoin
http://www.foxycart.com/blog/integrating-foxycart-coinbase
We saw very little interest. I think many merchants only do what their customers demand for them to do. It makes no sense to add a payment method your customers aren't demanding. The number of sales they are potentially losing by not offering it is near zero and they don't think they'll get enough new customers with it to justify the perceived risks.
What are those risks?
Well, many just hear the mainstream media headlines when it comes to bitcoin and those are usually filled with scare stories of theft, drug dealing, child trafficking, hackers, and those "evil anarchists." Yes, I know, it's sad what passes for "news" and "journalism" these days. Few, if any, listen to experts like Andreas Antonopoulos or do real research to figure out how little bitcoin is used for crime compared to cash. So the risks include:
Ultimately though, I think it's a chicken/egg problem. If enough customers demand a bitcoin/SBD payment system, merchants will add them. When they do, we'll be there to help.
Moral of the story: Every time you buy something, ask the merchant if you can pay with SBD or bitcoin. If they look at you funny, explain it quickly and succinctly and move on.
I always try to counter that by letting people know that there are sites devoted to helping people find where they can spend their BTC, and if you're listed there, it's basically a free ad for your business. Plus all the other benefits... no chargebacks, low fees, etc. ... but yeah it can be difficult to get businesses to adopt it. I was talking with someone at Whole Foods Market about the prospect... there was a little interest, but nothing did come of it unfortunately. Not from a lack of follow-up though ;)
Yeah, I tried over and over again, both in person and via blogging to get people interested. To me, crypto first needs a killer app for mass adoption. Steemit.com might be that app.
I know this isn't directed at me, and I think Luke might have some more insights that I'd like to hear. That being said, I think the main reason for it is that really the only people that want Bitcoin payment options are people who have Bitcoin. And that's a very thin slice of the population overall. The barriers for Bitcoin's success as a payment option are the same as Bitcoin as a whole... Perhaps the most relevant here is that for most people it represents the solution to a problem that doesn't exist. They can buy things online with their VISA or PayPal, so what is the advantage for the average consumer?
Yep. Until people realize, "Oh, wait, the money I'm using is backed by violence and controlled / manipulated by a small group of central bankers?" then they have no motivation to explore something new. The number of people who come to that realization is very small, but I do think it's growing.
Another problem with BTC is that it doesn't track the US Dollar. Steem Dollars could fill a gap here (and possibly become a reliable exchange currency) since people can hold them without fear of inflation or deflation relative to USD.