Topic: Interview session with store owner accepting bitcoin... (Read 410 times)

Not all accept bitcoin but those who are willing to take the risk at current (due to volatility in prices) and can foresee a deflationary future ahead for them are happily accepting and investing in bitcoin.The large companies accepting bitcoin is good but when small store owners or street side sellers who cannot risk their funds are also willing to accept bitcoin then it's truly great.But what i was more surprised was to see his intellectual knowledge about the bitcoin and that's why decided to publish the interview session with him.Maybe my next meeting with him soon and happy to talk with him.

This conversation of yours with a store owner who is very optimistic about bitcoin or cryptocurrency was so inspiring, it is amazing to know that even the government in your country were not yet allowing the use of bitcoin but also not considered as not legal but here there is these kind of small store owner that willing to adopt the fast changing technology. It's amazing to know that these kind of small business owner were also capable of adopting the digital finance and this is probably one of the good result of having bitcoin circulating in economy of one country.

Positive things about the adoption of Bitcoin should be spread widely, so that many other shop owners are also interested in accepting Bitcoin payments.
Especially in countries that have legalized Bitcoin as a payment, a lot of education should be done regarding the benefits of accepting Bitcoin
payments. Since most store owners have not adopted Bitcoin, because they don't really understand Bitcoin. In fact, many people still
misunderstand Bitcoin, because quite a lot of Bitcoin haters are spreading misleading information. This is actually the task of all of us who
already understand Bitcoin to try  to provide education about Bitcoin, starting with the nearest environment first. Because with more and more
people educating about Bitcoin, the adoption process should also run faster.

Thanks OP for this interview with the owner of a store that accepts bitcoin in your city.
Your reaction to seeing the store also fills me with emotion.
I was left with the doubt Where is the store located?
Every day I am motivated to introduce people to bitcoin and the crypto space.
At the moment I am doing it with my closest relatives, then I would like to do it from my neighborhood.
I think that if we take the initiative we can contribute to making bitcoin known to more people around the world.

things like this must be published throughout the world so that it can be considered by countries in the world to adopt bitcoin as payment. it seems that the shop owner has had experience with bitcoin, so the shop owner has understood the bitcoin mechanism periodically to use bitcoin well in the shop.

Nice one, this is a pretty awesome one, a family owned restaurant is a bit different although not altogether unique, I will go on a wild guess that the youngest or probably the children in the family is the one that has encourage this people.

From what I've seen and observed on the conversation, Bitcoin is really beneficial for business owners as well as crypto users customers. It provides convenience and profit at the same time. I also have a friend who switched to Bitcoin payment and he's enjoying it so far though some customers still prefer fiat payment. I'm sure that the time will come that more people would see the worth of Bitcoin payment.

The images are taken from Google just for reference purposes and yes they are not the original ones as they have not been shared for the privacy purposes and the main purpose was just to give the reference of the interview to the grocery store but the interview was conducted actually.

This is such a great idea! My friend recently convinced their parents to accept Bitcoin at their family restaurant.

Will see if I can get an interview with them!

If you're responding to concerns ^{[@mine and @Darker45]} in regards to showing an image with the BTCitcoin accepted sign, then you should remove both of the images that you've included ^{[despite making them smaller and cropping one of them, both of them "easily" showed up when I reverse image searched them (as a proof, there's a letter "M" somewhere in the middle of the store's name)]}.

• When you take an image from somewhere else, you should always include the source!
• I spent 10 minutes looking through the images that the customers have posted and I couldn't find a single image showing that they're accepting BTCitcoin in their store...
  ^{- I'm not implying that you've lied, but you should really include an image that shows that's the case.}

The other two images were taken from two different sources, but I can confirm that both of them belong to a single store.

I agree.  Op author (aysg76) should address each of these points that you made and provide use with an explanation regarding both the reason for the chosen photos (and whether they were actual photos and why not) and the mechanics getting from meeting the supposed store owner and getting the actual interview.. including whether he recorded the interview in order to be able to exactly quote what the supposed store owner said.  Was the interview in English?  Asian location so what language?  I would not want aysg76 to compromise his own opsec or the opsec of anyone else, although I would consider that the actual store owner's accepting bitcoin may well want to attract  potential bitcoin paying customers... so should actually consider whether he was NOT wanting customers to know some of his interview answers.. which surely could be the case, too.

This was a very good read. Looks like the store owner  knows what he is doing. Even if he doesn't get many customers that are willing to pay in bitcoin, at least he is helping spread the word about bitcoin. More people will be curious about it and will eventually start learning about crypto currencies.
In Q3 he says its better than fiat because fiat transactions "can prohibit users (from) making transactions and ask (for) documentations". If bitcoin is regulated in his country, he will also have to provide documentations and go through KYC process before he can convert his bitcoin to fiat. He also says that he converts his btc earning to fiat at the end of the month. What if the market crashes? How is he going to deal with the losses?

let's continue the spread of bitcoin, and can be accepted in all stores, which can certainly benefit both parties, between buyers and recipients, bitcoin is now very popular, there are even countries that have legalized bitcoin, but unfortunately in my country there are no shops who accept bitcoin, I hope in the future there will be a shop that accepts bitcoin in my country..

Thanks to all of you for your great response and liking this interview session.It was totally unexpected for me also as it was just a normal day for me and wasn't expecting such a meeting with bitcoin enthusiast who is optimistic like all of us and free from any issues and happy to accept Bitcoin payments.

To answer some of  your above questions I belong to an Asian metropolitan city with a population of around 8 Million and not many stores are accepting bitcoin around us as btc is not legal but it's also not ban which means you can trade in it.The store owner usually convert his btc holding to fiat by selling it on P2P basis locally or sell them other ways he find suitable and have cash in his account.The taxation system are like any gains for bitcoin are termed under income from capital gains but seeing his starting base he would not come under tax slab and even if he comes he don't find any problem to it.Rest some privacy is also needed but will try to visit him frequently and whenever i visit him again and buy groceries from him i will try to paste the transaction here for all of you.

It was great experience meeting him and hope to see more stores follow him the same way and bitcoin becomes normal for payment.

What a great interview and a brave store owner. BTC is so unpredictable in his jumps that store might have a lot of losses out of nowhere. I knew that there are such stores and was always interested how they deal with ever-changing variations of BTC’s price. I read in one article that sellers doesn’t count price in BTC for each individual product, they count overall cost for goods the client buy in dollars and then convert in BTC by fixed market price on the moment of sale. If they have another national currency (not dollar) then they firstly convert in dollars and then in BTC. This moment is missed in the interview. Does your shop owner doing the same?

Bitcoin is also not too picky about users as store customers pay with their Bitcoin regularly. The shop owner is also a business minded person. Surely he has made a good profit during the time he holds his Bitcoin.
Similar stories like this are happening in many places as far as I knowSimilar stories like this are happening in many places as far as I know The activity of accepting Bitcoin for payment has been going on for a long time in many parts of the world.

The pain point for merchants, as he answered in his question about risk-free is how he stores value.

Store owner is actually just a middle point between the retailers he buys from and anyone who runs a store knows he gets his items all stocked from credit. So let's say every month he has a credit from the retailers on food etc at $1000. Which at the end of the month he has to pay back $1000 plus whatever interest.

But if he accepts Bitcoin he has to constantly be aware of his line of credit and repayments. A bad crash can wipe out a business, hence their desire to protect in stablecoin, not the assets, but the value.

I had a similar experience with a tyre fitment centre in my city. I had a worn tyre that had to be replaced and I walked into the shop and there it was "Bitcoin Accepted here" sticker on the counter. I then ordered 2 tyres and I paid with my mobile wallet, but things did not go as planned... because the merchant struggled with "BitPay" and with his accounting system.

The payment with Bitcoin took longer than the fitment and balancing of the 2 tyres.    The transaction was successful, but a few weeks after that, the merchant phoned me and asked me if I can come back and if I can pay with cash, because BitPay had issues validating their wallet and they limited or blocked their account. (He has since stopped accepting Bitcoin as a payment option)

So, until we find a way to eliminate the 3rd party intermediaries (centralized services) ... Merchant adoption of Bitcoin as a payment option will be stalled.... hopefully the Lightning Network will solve these issues. 

There's no gas fee in BTC. Are you talking about ETH? It's not wise to transact in ETH. It's really expensive now.

Maybe there are actual stores there but just not announcing it. Maybe if you have a store near you that you are a frequent buyer, maybe you can suggest it or ask if they can utilize it and create their personal wallet etc. Why not set up your own?

Got me interested too to talk to random store (not that big store) near me so I can also know which store I could walk through in case I'm running out of cash and needed something to buy because like in today's case the gas fee was set so high. Here in my country the government didn't announced any bans of crypto neither announced it as legal tender but who knows if those store owners who knows this digital platforms were only waited to have one of their customer asks like the same question. So far, here in my country I haven't seen any business establishments posting a cards saying "bitcoin payments accepted here" but I do hope one day I could one find one.

This sounds pretty good.

However, pardon my skepticism but it seems there isn't a single proof that this store actually exists and that this interview actually took place at all. I hope I'm wrong, though.

Isn't it more interesting to share a picture of the actual store along with the signage saying it accepts Bitcoin rather than just a couple of shots showing items inside a random grocery store? Also, I highly doubt this "BTC bitcoin accepted here" photo is also taken from the business establishment itself. It looks like an image grabbed from somewhere online.

And you're also saying you were just passing by the road, see a board up the store that bitcoin payments are accepted, and immediately meet the owner, had a long discussion with him, and finally interviewed him?

Finally, your interview is unplanned and random or impromptu. It doesn't appear so.

This is really a good phenomenon. Small payments in stores may be gas higher than goods. I think bitcoin is suitable for large payment. I know I'm wrong.

Best start asking now to have an interview with them and share us your results. Pretty sure that we might get some really good insights depending on what and how they answer each question. I wanted to try this but unfortunately I haven't found any one yet that's accepting bitcoin as a payment system, maybe someday I'll see one.

Now I want to interview random store owners that accept crypto. Lol.

Anyway, it's fun to see someone having the time of their lives with all the freedom with the current fiat system. I think what is lacking with the store owner is this forum. It's good that you introduced it to him. It's like having education but missing parts in the curriculum if you aren't reading stuff here.

Great write up here! I love seeing people taking the initiative to talk with others, especially store owners who are starting to accept bitcoin.  All of this stuff is only going to help with mass adoption.  I recently got my dog groomer to set up a little stand to start accepting bitcoin.  She had heard about it through her husband but hadn't bought any yet or set up any wallets or anything like that so I walked her through getting it all set up    Again great post!

His answer to question 11 is a powerful one, a revolution to break free from the chains of capitalism is a big statement that means that the store owner has bitcoin in high regards and that he believes in the potential of bitcoin to change how we see the world.

In my country there's also a payment processor that accepts fiat or crypto, and I am almost sure that the (few) shops using it receive fiat at the end of the day.
It clearly can be done, just I don't know if it can be done easily or there are some tricks and "trade secrets" to be done to achieve that. Especially for a small business. Clearly it also depends from one country to another.

I guess Bitcoin is somewhat regulated in that country, because otherwise the owner would not be able to use it in his physical trade. He mentioned that he converts BTC to fiat at the end of each month and then maybe reports such income to the monthly base or maybe in the annual tax return.

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I don't think there is almost anything today that can't be paid with Bitcoin, at least when it comes to online payment. One such example exists in my country where you can buy anything you want online for cryptocurrencies, and all this using a domestic payment cryptoprocessor.

Literally everybody can keep his earnings in Bitcoin - let's say as investment - or he can convert to local fiat to "stay safe". But converting into stable coins simply gives the illusion of staying safe/risk free.

The question is - unless this happens in El Salvador, heh - how does the owner handle the taxes and papers for his sales in Bitcoin?
The owner seems to have been done properly his study on Bitcoin (from user's perspective) and he's doing the things right. Hats off for that.
Nice interview, OP. It gives a good sentiment that things can get easily in the right direction.

I really liked every bit of that interview, but it would've been better if there was also a picture of the board in question ^{[both of the images that you've included aren't that clear and AFAICS, none of them have a BTCitcoin symbol in them]}.

Unfortunately, that's not true and it'll just lead to other risks: [UPDATED] PSA: Most Stablecoins Can Be Frozen, Even in Your Own Wallets

It can definitely give him profit once the value goes up, but what will happen if the value goes down? The value of bitcoin is volatile. So there can be both profit or loss. The store owner can convert his bitcoin into stablecoin to stay risk free.

The store owner is surely knowledgeable about Bitcoin, to be honest, the idea of accepting Bitcoin as a payment is good and will definitely profit him, the fact that it is volatile is what makes it risky, but it can also definitely give him profit once the value goes up, so does his income in Bitcoin, I do hope that his business continues to grow and that more people around your country continues to recognize and realize how beneficial Bitcoin can be.

Well, this needs to be sustainable. I prefer recommending people to rely on some sort of autonomous businesses built around crypto economy and do not rely too much on government infrastructures/system to thrive... Or people could accept crypto if they are offered some as gift, or if they are getting rewarded in Crypto for services that require voluntary payments.
 I think this is still early though. I see potential problems ahead if the right things are not done

Amazing! May I please ask which country it is? But given the sensitivity of this information you can definitely ignore my question.

This is what we need to be honest! Corporates pouring in millions into bitcoin, doesn't teally excites me because I know bitcoin will not be used as a currency for them. Rather, that's just an investment.

But this is what we call granular level adoption. Bitcoin is used as a currency here. That's what has the power to drive the entire crypto market to the next level. Bravo! Many thanks for sharing the interview.

Great to see this happening and nice interview  Out of interest - which country is this ?
This sort of adoption just increase more adoption. let’s keep spreading the Bitcoin message !

There are lot of groceries stores around me but they all belong to same category like accepting cash or card related payments and bitcoin is not as much famous in our locality. I often went to buy stuff on my own but this time an unusual thing happened with me. As I was passing by the road I see a board up the store that bitcoin payments are accepted here and was surprised to see this and immediately went in to meet the owner out of curiosity. It is not a big store and you can buy regular stuff from there like groceries and some food packaging materials.

     
 I talked with him and I was surprised to see that he has all the technical details of the bitcoin working and he appreciated the bitcoin exposure more and more and was accepting it that's why. It was good to have long discussion with him and sharing our thoughts on the same was really good experience. .At last I thought to interview him and share the same with you all guys which I thought must be good idea. So here is the interview session with him :

Q1 How did you come to know about bitcoin?
Ans. It was 3 years back actually when there was news about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and it was new term for me and being interested in technical things from the start i became keen to explore bitcoin to know exactly what it is and how it works.So i made deep research about it and it opened up new decentralised door for me.


Q2 So did you know the technical working of bitcoin?
Ans. Yes i am aware of the technical working of bitcoin although i am not a programmer but I have learned about the mining process and how transactions are made and recorded on public ledger which is called blockchain.There are many things in the backend of which i am aware about (i was happy listening to him)

Q3 Do you think bitcoin is better than fiat?
Ans. Undoubtedly, bitcoin is our funds and fiat is centres funds and they can prohibit users making transactions and ask documentation for the same but bitcoin comes with freedom so we both must be of same thinking 😄


Q4 How many customers pay with bitcoin here?
Ans. There are some users who are paying with bitcoin and i was also surprised to see that thing as bitcoin was not famous here but you can say that i have 4-5 regular customers making btc payment to me.Hope to see numbers increasing.

Q5 How do you accept bitcoin payments?
Ans. First i was not having many customers paying with bitcoin on regular basis so was accepting payments with my qr code set up on front desk.But it usually takes 8-10 minutes for 1-2 confirmation but now i am having 6-7 customer fixed so will be opening LN channel with them on any wallet like phoenix to avoid such issues.

Q6 Do you convert it to fiat or holding to your funds?
Ans. Actually i can't hold all my funds in bitcoin which is my bad luck as this store is my source of earning and i have to refill the stock regularly so i need to have cash with me as they don't accept btc payments still.So.i have set up my rule like what i need is converted and profits partially are hold in bitcoin.Like i made $100 profits then i will hold $40 in btc and rest i need them.

Q7 Fees and Volatility don't affect you?
Ans. I usually convert payment in btc at the last of month and in single transaction so whatever the fees is i don't care because i am going to use it anyway.I also get cash profits also so not major loss and know when prices will rise profits will be enough to cover all those past expenses.

Q8 Do you think government Should legalized its usage?
Ans. For sure the the underdeveloped and developing countries need to regulate bitcoin and give it legal status to boost their economy and leave the pessimistic approach to have full control over the people otherwise they will still lag behind in every term and inflation would kill the economy.


Q9 What security measures do you take to secure your funds?
Ans. I am using hardware wallet Ledger Nano S for this and have backed up my seed phrase in various locations which are easily accessible by me not everyone.(This was best part i wasn't expecting from him )

Q10 How much user growth you see in bitcoin payments?
Ans. See at this moment i have less users but soon more will be paying with the same method and i believe it.

Q11 What message you would like to give to the readers of this interview session between us?
Ans. If you want to revolutionize the world and be free from central capitalism and take control of your funds then don't fear Bitcoin rather be part of it and invest, accept or pay with it and you will have great future ahead.


This was one of the best bitcoin talk I have recently made with an completely stranger person few moments ago but now we share a btc bond that is unbreakable like the network and will buy groceries from him monthly by opening a LN channel with him along with his other 5-6 customer and decided to meet him whenever we have time to talk. I also introduce him to the bitcointalk forum and told him that he can learn even more from here and can ask any his question related to bitcoin and seek advice of senior members on technical topics also and they will be ready to help you a lot.BTC