Wednesday, October 4, 2023
The Optic News
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Local
  • World
  • National
  • Politics
  • Finance
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Classifieds
  • Social
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Local
  • World
  • National
  • Politics
  • Finance
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Classifieds
  • Social
No Result
View All Result
The Optic News
No Result
View All Result
Home News Finance

Bitcoin’s use as currency may just be getting started (Cryptocurrency:BTC-USD)

April 23, 2022
in Finance
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Bitcoin Concept With Binary Codes

Eoneren/iStock via Getty Images

Is bitcoin (BTC-USD) going to become a widely used medium of exchange? Its lack of acceptance as a means of payment among merchants, as well as its high transaction costs, “is now changing,” Morgan Stanley analyst Sheena Shah wrote in a note to clients Thursday.

Room to grow? The global crypto market cap recently stood at $1.87T, which may sound large, but not when compared with more established asset classes like global equities (~$90T), bonds (~$120T), and Gold (XAUUSD:CUR) (~$12T), according to 2021 figures.

A slew of payment companies, in particular, are looking to expand their reach in the growing decentralized space. For example, payments firm Strike recently teamed up with point-of-sale supplier NCR (NCR) and rewards-based payments firm Blackhawk Network, which “could mean that a large number of physical stores, restaurants and cafes in the US will be able to accept bitcoin payments in the near future,” Shah explained.

Also, Strike in early April partnered with ecommerce platform Shopify (SHOP) to allow merchants to accept bitcoin (BTC-USD) payments as dollars over the Lightning Network, the most popular BTC scaling solution. “This is not a small deal,” SA contributor Mike Fay said April 14. “The merchant benefits from this kind of exchange because the merchant doesn’t need to pay traditional payment processing fees through traditional payment rails. For the user, paying for goods through Bitcoin’s Lightning Network might ultimately lead to lower prices for everything since the merchant won’t have to bake the processing fee into the cost of the item,” he added. The crypto adoption “evolution” doesn’t stop there. Another payment processing firm, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) said early April that it will offer merchants the ability to receive settlement directly in USD Coin (USDC-USD), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Keep in mind that fees on bitcoin (BTC-USD) transactions using the Lightning Network are next to zero, compared with the average fee to transact BTC on the Proof-of-Work blockchain of around $1.50, making the layer 2 payment protocol “much more practical for small payments that would otherwise be made using a debit card,” the note said.

Given that 85% of sales in the U.S. occur in shops rather than online, it’s more important to monitor the development of physical stores’ acceptance of crypto, Shah said. And while bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) price swings are known to be wild, volatility could moderate significantly if BTC’s usage as a medium of payment, either through cards or payment terminals, becomes more widely accepted, Shah noted.

Furthermore, Starbucks (SBUX), after recently collaborating with digital asset platform Bakkt (BKKT) to offer crypto payment top-ups through its app, is now one of the largest retailers that accepts bitcoin (BTC-USD) in its stores. In the beginning of April, Bakkt, which enables customers to seamlessly access and transact across all digital assets, had allowed American Bank customers to access bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH-USD).

But not everyone is on board. Ecommerce giant Amazon’s (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy in mid-April said that his company is “probably not close” to adding crypto as a payment mechanism.

Earlier in the week ended April 22, Australia’s financial regulator unveiled a crypto policy roadmap as interest in the space expands.



Source link

Tags: BitcoinsCryptocurrencyBTCUSDcurrencyStarted
Share30Tweet19
Previous Post

12 Actors Who Got Paid Almost Nothing For Their Roles

Next Post

Carnival returns to Rio de Janeiro after two years due to Covid pandemic in explosion of colour and music

Recommended For You

Yen back near 150 as intervention chatter swirls By Reuters

by The Optic News
October 4, 2023
0

© Reuters. Passersby walk past an electric monitor displaying Japan's Nikkei share average and recent movements outside a bank in Tokyo, Japan, March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File photo...

Read more

5 Republicans who may run to replace ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy—and inherit leadership of a slim and unruly majority

by The Optic News
October 4, 2023
0

After a handful of conservative hardliners ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Tuesday, Republicans have to decide who to turn to next to try and manage their slim and...

Read more

How high could rates go? Where analysts see the 10-year yield headed

by The Optic News
October 3, 2023
0

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield has hit its highest level in 16 years, but a host of economists and money managers and investors expect it can go still...

Read more

Wall St dives as jobs data fans rate worries, Treasury yields spike By Reuters

by The Optic News
October 3, 2023
0

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By...

Read more

Tesla: Pinning Hopes On FSD Is A Huge Mistake (NASDAQ:TSLA)

by The Optic News
October 3, 2023
0

Xiaolu Chu It is not a stretch to say that Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) may be the most overanalyzed company in modern history, with its technology, financials, and management...

Read more
Next Post

Carnival returns to Rio de Janeiro after two years due to Covid pandemic in explosion of colour and music

Acosta, Navarro Accuse Republicans of 'Cancelling' Disney

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hydrate

The Optic News

Copyright © 2022 - The Optic News.
The Optic News is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us
  • Client Portal
  • Client Portal
  • Client Portal
  • Client Portal

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Local
  • World
  • National
  • Politics
  • Finance
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Classifieds
  • Social

Copyright © 2022 - The Optic News.
The Optic News is not responsible for the content of external sites.