While cryptocurrency remains among the riskiest realms in which to invest or speculate, thousands of business owners are taking a liking to this complicated form of digital currency.
Difficulty in understanding cryptocurrency hasn’t stopped an increasing number of companies from tapping into it to buy and sell products, pay for operational needs, and to invest in company infrastructure.
Some of the advantages that have fallen out of Bitcoin and its many cousins are:
- It delivers all-new demographic groups as buyers for companies. By accepting cryptocurrency, firms are discovering they’re gaining new clients that like transparency and cutting-edge products. Better yet, those who pay with crypto tend to purchase twice as much as those who pay with credit cards.
- Getting in on cryptocurrency now is a hedge for the future. Many company CEOs feel that if they don’t get up to speed on working with digital currency now, they’ll be left behind by more tech-savvy competitors in the future.
- Using cryptocurrency helps companies introduce their own cutting-edge products to a market that loves innovative stuff.
- Cryptocurrency delivers options that are not available using traditional money. For example, digital money enables real-time, highly accurate revenue-sharing. At the same time, it enhances transparency that helps with internal reconciliation.
- Crypto makes simple, secure money transfers in real-time much easier.
- It gives a company greater control of overall capital flow.
- Cryptocurrency can serve as an alternative asset to cash. Traditional money is subject to outside forces, such as inflation. Cryptocurrency is immune from inflation for complex reasons we won’t discuss here.
All these benefits and more are enough to make ignoring cryptocurrency difficult. However, serious challenges come with all the benefits. For example, when dealing with foreign clients, companies must determine if their contacts are attempting to launder money – the international drug cartels are notorious for “washing cash” with cryptocurrency technology.
Another area of deep concern is something called “second-layer protocols.” These are defined as “scaling applications that sit atop blockchains.”
If that sounds like a lot of gobbledygook to you, then you’re not alone. You may also have some idea how much there is to learn about cryptocurrency before it can be put to use safely and securely.