We Are Not Alone
Written by 5ivecanons Staff
Bitcoin is the fastest growing decentralized digital currency of the decade and is not slowing as major American retailers begin accepting the currency as payment.
Since its creation in 2009 Bitcoin, a digital currency made infamous by the Silk Road debacle, is becoming a viable and stable method of payment online. With over 20,000 businesses and charities accepting bitcoin and BitPay, 5ivecanons became one of the first Florida advertising agencies to accept BitPay, on December 10th 2013.
Here are some of the major players who also have recently began accepting bitcoin payments and are cementing the digital currency as a legitimate form of tender.
Overstock.com
January 2014, overstock.com started accepting bitcoins making it the most mainstream e-tailer to accept this virtual currency. This acceptance was a hit, within the first 24 hours $130,000 worth of transactions were made. Although they accept bitcoins overstock.com does not keep them. CEO Patrick Byrne noted on CNN International that until his suppliers accept bitcoin there is no purpose for holing onto them. Until then they will be swapped out for US dollars.
WordPress.com
November 2012 WordPress.com started accepting bitcoins to purchase upgrades. This is great news for WordPress who believes that everyone should have the opportunity to publish their blog. Without bitcoin more than 60 countries were unable access upgrades due to political or financial reasons. Since there is no central authority over bitcoin the currency is available to anyone online.
The Pirate Bay
April 2013, popular file-sharing site, The Pirate Bay started accepting bitcoin donations and it’s turned out very successful so far. The Pirate Bay never used to accept donations but now with this easy anonymous currency the site can now prosper. The Pirate Bay recently also started accepting another form of digital currency similar to bitcoin called Litcoin.
Virgin Galactic
Novemeber 2013 CEO Richard Branson announced that Virgin Galactic will now be accepting bitcoin for private space flights. It only makes since that this specialized and high-tech company would want to start accepting this new digital form of currency. Since Virgin Galactic started accepting bitcoins Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Leonardo DiCaprio have all purchase their $250,000 ticket.
Sacramento Kings basketball team
January 2014, the National Basketball Association’s Sacramento Kings announced that they will be the first professional sports franchise to accept bitcoin using the bitten processor, Bitpay. Fans will now be ale to purchase merchandise and tickets with this new form of currency. This has turned out very beneficial for the team since this process charges a flat fee rather than a percentage of the sale like credit or debit cards.
Some say bitcoin is just a fad while others believe it is a gateway for criminals attempting to buy and sell illegal goods online anonymously. Supporters such as Overstock.com and our very own 5ivecanons believe it is a more constitutional alternative for traditional currency.
