as far as big businesses goes, i know microsoft accepts bitcoin payments: https://commerce.microsoft.com/PaymentHub/Help/Right?helppagename=CSV_BitcoinHowTo.htm
however as stated before in the thread, those payments are likely converted to fiat on a regular basis.
Topic: Are there any major businesses that accept Bitcoin directly? (Read 995 times)
I don't think businesses are accepting Bitcoin directly. They can't really use it to do anything without converting it to fiat. Unless a business can get the entire supply chain and all of their employees to accept Bitcoin, I think they will continue to use services like Bitpay which convert to fiat.
and so what is the problem? with bitpay they will dump for fiat too, i don't see a big difference, just more fast setting if they accept bitpay as a payment and bigger volume because many trust more bitpay than a random merchant, even in this cae for example, i wasn't aware of this company
I don't think businesses are accepting Bitcoin directly. They can't really use it to do anything without converting it to fiat. Unless a business can get the entire supply chain and all of their employees to accept Bitcoin, I think they will continue to use services like Bitpay which convert to fiat.
Backpage.com might be holding it now. Not sure though.
I don't think there are any that accept bitcoin directly just yet due to the high volatility of the currency.
Looks like there is someone out tjere that really want to make a business on a real and major things.. If anyone want to try just take alook on this thread, he asking on investment in property..
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/usd-investment-opportunity-real-estate-1122027
I don't think there are any that accept bitcoin directly just yet due to the high volatility of the currency.
I'm sure there are some that accept bitcoin directly and maybe they either hold or sell the coins themselves on the exchange but if you run a business you're going to need some cash to actually pay for your products or overheads. I don't think there's anything wrong with using a payment processor and would rather companies accepted bitcoin with one than not at all.
They'd be exposing themselves to potentially large losses for no particularly good reason. Obviously potential rises too but they have humongous costs to meet in terms of suppliers, staff, advertising etc and there's no place for ideological gestures with so much on the line. They're not in the business of currency or asset speculation. They're there to make consistent profit.
Perhaps they'd be more inclined with digital goods but even then shareholders aren't going to be too impressed with totally needless uncertainty while the CEO enthuses about how cool the whole thing is.
There are plenty of smaller businesses that are partial or all BTC. Bitpay's figures were quite surprising in that aspect. Quite a few kept back coins. Perhaps if one of them blows up it might get others thinking.
Perhaps they'd be more inclined with digital goods but even then shareholders aren't going to be too impressed with totally needless uncertainty while the CEO enthuses about how cool the whole thing is.
There are plenty of smaller businesses that are partial or all BTC. Bitpay's figures were quite surprising in that aspect. Quite a few kept back coins. Perhaps if one of them blows up it might get others thinking.
Most businesses cannot afford to take the risk of keeping their money in bitcoin and overstock announcing losses of over 100k from holding a percentage of their money in bitcoin is exactly why it's not feasible currently but could be in the future if bitcoin value steadies. Personally, if I can buy something from a store directly with my bitcoins then as far as I'm concerned they accept bitcoin. People on the Silk Road and other darknet markets probably sold their coins asap but it's irrelevant to me what someone does with their coins as it all helps the bitcoin economy.
Ever since Overstock announced that they were going to begin "accepting" payments in BTC in late 2013, many businesses have started "accepting" BTC as well. However, what they actually do is use a payment processor like BitPay or Coinbase to instantly and automatically convert the BTC behind the scenes so that in the end, they get the same old fiat. While most news articles ignore this aspect, I've always thought that a distinction should be made between businesses that accept BTC through a payment processor and those that accept BTC directly.
And it seems that I'm not the only one who thinks this:
Link: http://time.com/money/3658361/dell-microsoft-expedia-bitcoin/
Overstock sort of bucks this trend because they claim to retain a small percentage of the BTC that they get through Coinbase in the form of BTC without converting to fiat. Unfortunately for them however, the drop in BTC prices in the past year seems to have hit them quite hard which might possibly discourage other businesses from doing the same thing:
Link: http://www.coindesk.com/overstock-reports-over-100k-in-bitcoin-losses-for-q1-2015/
Recently, I've learned that even Alpaca Socks (the first merchant to adopt BTC back in 2010) are using BitPay. It's possible that they are keeping a part of it in BTC just like the way Overstock is doing but I doubt it:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/alpaca-socks-now-uses-bitpay-974782
I mean, don't get me wrong, I think this type of "adoption" of Bitcoin by major businesses is a good thing even if they are converting all of it into fiat. The mere fact that they are even acknowledging the existence of Bitcoin is a step in the right direction IMO and is probably something that would have been unthinkable back in 2009-2012. But like I said, saying that these businesses are actually adopting Bitcoin in the true sense of the word is a bit inaccurate since there is a huge difference between actually accepting Bitcoin directly and accepting Bitcoin through a payment processor that automatically converts it into fiat.
So are there any major or even semi-major businesses out there that actually do accept Bitcoin directly?
And it seems that I'm not the only one who thinks this:
Quote from: Time.com
Well, there’s just one problem there: Almost none of the businesses mentioned above technically accept bitcoin. Instead, they partner with a middleman - generally either Coinbase or BitPay - who takes a customer’s bitcoin, immediately converts it into cash, and then deposits the cash in the company’s bank account.
In other words, Dell, Expedia, Microsoft, and Time, Inc. don’t actually "accept" bitcoins, per se. They accept U.S. dollars. It’s their bitcoin processing partners who accept bitcoin. They, in turn, make money on transaction fees (in the case of Coinbase), or by selling their software and services as a subscription (in the case of BitPay).
BitPay, which has partnered with Microsoft, Newegg, and other merchants, confirmed to MONEY that the majority of its major clients ask that their bitcoins be instantly converted to cash. "I would say as a general trend most of our larger business do choose a settlement in 100% U.S. dollars because that’s how they do their accounting and finance," said Tony Gallippi, co-founder and executive chairman of BitPay.
In other words, Dell, Expedia, Microsoft, and Time, Inc. don’t actually "accept" bitcoins, per se. They accept U.S. dollars. It’s their bitcoin processing partners who accept bitcoin. They, in turn, make money on transaction fees (in the case of Coinbase), or by selling their software and services as a subscription (in the case of BitPay).
BitPay, which has partnered with Microsoft, Newegg, and other merchants, confirmed to MONEY that the majority of its major clients ask that their bitcoins be instantly converted to cash. "I would say as a general trend most of our larger business do choose a settlement in 100% U.S. dollars because that’s how they do their accounting and finance," said Tony Gallippi, co-founder and executive chairman of BitPay.
Link: http://time.com/money/3658361/dell-microsoft-expedia-bitcoin/
Overstock sort of bucks this trend because they claim to retain a small percentage of the BTC that they get through Coinbase in the form of BTC without converting to fiat. Unfortunately for them however, the drop in BTC prices in the past year seems to have hit them quite hard which might possibly discourage other businesses from doing the same thing:
Quote from: CoinDesk
US retail giant Overstock lost $117,000 on its investments in cryptocurrencies during the first quarter of 2015, according to the company's latest quarterly earnings report.
Overstock listed its cryptocurrency holdings as valued at $233,000, down from $340,000 on 31st December.
Long one of the largest merchants in the digital currencies space, Overstock had previously indicated that it was holding as much as 10% of its proceeds from such sales in bitcoin.
Overstock listed its cryptocurrency holdings as valued at $233,000, down from $340,000 on 31st December.
Long one of the largest merchants in the digital currencies space, Overstock had previously indicated that it was holding as much as 10% of its proceeds from such sales in bitcoin.
Link: http://www.coindesk.com/overstock-reports-over-100k-in-bitcoin-losses-for-q1-2015/
Recently, I've learned that even Alpaca Socks (the first merchant to adopt BTC back in 2010) are using BitPay. It's possible that they are keeping a part of it in BTC just like the way Overstock is doing but I doubt it:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/alpaca-socks-now-uses-bitpay-974782
I mean, don't get me wrong, I think this type of "adoption" of Bitcoin by major businesses is a good thing even if they are converting all of it into fiat. The mere fact that they are even acknowledging the existence of Bitcoin is a step in the right direction IMO and is probably something that would have been unthinkable back in 2009-2012. But like I said, saying that these businesses are actually adopting Bitcoin in the true sense of the word is a bit inaccurate since there is a huge difference between actually accepting Bitcoin directly and accepting Bitcoin through a payment processor that automatically converts it into fiat.
So are there any major or even semi-major businesses out there that actually do accept Bitcoin directly?
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