The cannabis industry both the medical side and the non-medical one are facing a surge in demand on a global scale. It is true that the pot industry is right now growing and there are already many players on the market and there can be more new entrants soon. As long as there would be demand, we can expect that suppliers would be there...whether the business is legal or not.
Bitcoin can be used by anyone and with any industry most especially those having problems with the traditional infrastructure or services offered by banks and similar establishments. This is actually helping Bitcoin getting more valuable because the market is always expanding in so many fronts.
Topic: [2017-06-13] Bitcoin Is Helping the Pot Business Get Over Its Banking Problem (Read 2295 times)
June 13, 2017, 11:07:10 PM
June 13, 2017, 09:59:50 PM
Cannabis companies are turning to the world’s most popular digital currency in an effort to get rid of all that cash.
The inability to access traditional financial institutions is one of the marijuana industry’s biggest impediments. Legal cannabis was a $6 billion industry last year and is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2026, according to Cowen & Co. But because pot is illegal under federal law, big banks and credit-card companies steer clear. That’s forced most merchants to accept cash only, a logistical headache and constant security threat.
Enter bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that consists of digital coins “mined” by computers solving increasingly complex math problems. At least two financial-technology startups, POSaBIT and SinglePoint Inc., use the cryptocurrency as an intermediate step that lets pot connoisseurs use their bank-issued credit cards to buy weed.
“There’s no industry -- whether it’s the production and sale of cannabis or the production and sale of a cup of coffee -- that can operate safely, transparently or effectively without access to banks or other financial institutions and traditional services,” said Jon Baugher, co-founder of POSaBIT, whose technology is used by 30 dispensaries in Washington state. “That’s where we thought we could leverage the use of digital currency.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-13/pot-entrepreneurs-look-to-bitcoin-as-big-banks-stay-on-sidelines
The inability to access traditional financial institutions is one of the marijuana industry’s biggest impediments. Legal cannabis was a $6 billion industry last year and is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2026, according to Cowen & Co. But because pot is illegal under federal law, big banks and credit-card companies steer clear. That’s forced most merchants to accept cash only, a logistical headache and constant security threat.
Enter bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that consists of digital coins “mined” by computers solving increasingly complex math problems. At least two financial-technology startups, POSaBIT and SinglePoint Inc., use the cryptocurrency as an intermediate step that lets pot connoisseurs use their bank-issued credit cards to buy weed.
“There’s no industry -- whether it’s the production and sale of cannabis or the production and sale of a cup of coffee -- that can operate safely, transparently or effectively without access to banks or other financial institutions and traditional services,” said Jon Baugher, co-founder of POSaBIT, whose technology is used by 30 dispensaries in Washington state. “That’s where we thought we could leverage the use of digital currency.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-13/pot-entrepreneurs-look-to-bitcoin-as-big-banks-stay-on-sidelines
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