Bringing Bitcoin to the masses is always a big challenge. This is mainly because so few merchants are willing to deal with cryptocurrency. A new survey by Square Inc shows some of their merchants are willing to experiment. In fact, over half of the respondents are inclined to deal with Bitcoin in one way or another.
Getting more merchants to accept Bitcoin would be a good thing. As of right now, overall acceptance is at a low point. It is not the worst low in history, but things are not looking great either. With so many retailers halting Bitcoin support over the past 18 months, things have turned against the world’s leading cryptocurrency. The higher fees and slow transaction confirmations are two pressing issues. Until those are solved, no major changes need to be expected.
Square Merchants and Bitcoin
A survey by Square Inc paints a more positive future, though. The company provides merchant services to accept various payments, including Bitcoin. It seems over half of the Square retailers want to experiment with Bitcoin. Although only 100 respondents partook in this survey, it is a telling sign regardless. Some are even inclined to drop US Dollar support altogether if Bitcoin had more traction.
Even though the Bitcoin price isn’t heading in the right direction, the interest is still there. Volatility is quite normal where Bitcoin is concerned This current trend, on the other hand, is a lot more bearish than people expected. It will be interesting to see where the price is headed in a few months from now. Some experts still expect a value of over $20,000 per BTC this year. Right now, that seems highly unlikely.
It is evident Square can make a positive impact in this regard. If their merchants experiment with this option, things will get very interesting. Company CEO Jack Dorsey firmly believes Bitcoin is a transformational technology for the payment industry. Only time will tell whether or not that is indeed the case. Right now, it is a plaything of speculators and market manipulators foremost. The currency aspect of BTC has been pushed to the background quite some time ago.
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