As the world moves further from physical cash transactions to a majority of transactions being conducted digitally, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin become an intriguing payment method to consider.
Over the last several years, we’ve seen cryptocurrencies experience massive bull runs, leading many speculators to believe that cryptocurrencies will be used in the future to conduct a majority, if not all, of our transactions.
Governments and central banking entities have already begun to claim their stake in Bitcoin as the price climbs back above $42,000, according to data from OKX.
Let’s take a look at how your business can get set up and start accepting Bitcoin payments:
Create a Bitcoin Wallet
To send and receive payments on the Bitcoin network, each user needs their own digital “wallet” which stores their digital assets.
There are many Bitcoin wallet providers, so take some time to research the options available to determine the best choice for your business’s needs.
Another important thing to consider is whether or not to use a hardware wallet, also known as ‘cold storage’.
Hardware wallets are physical devices that store your crypto wallet’s private keys offline, so your assets are inaccessible by bad actors.
In contrast, any online wallet is considered ‘hot storage’, which means there’s the possibility that a malicious actor could breach the wallet and potentially steal your cryptocurrency.
Choose a Bitcoin Payment Processor
After you’ve chosen and set up your wallet, the next step is deciding which payment processor your business will use to handle receiving Bitcoin payments.
Thankfully, most modern ecommerce platforms already have integrations with multiple Bitcoin payment processors, which should make getting things set up a bit easier.
For example, Magento has integrations with CoinGate and BitPay, while the Shopify platform has integrations with Coinbase and Dwolla.
Each crypto payment processor will charge different fees and provide different benefits, so take some time to research each option available to your business.
Also ensure the reputability of the payment provider you select, as the fate of your crypto assets will be in their hands.
You could also choose to accept Bitcoin payments manually.
Since Bitcoin is a completely decentralized network, there is no need to involve third parties to conduct transactions.
Granted, working with a payment processing company to handle your cryptocurrency transactions can be easier, but you can decide for yourself which method is best for your business.
The upside to handling Bitcoin transactions manually is that your business won’t need to pay extra fees to a payment processing company, which can be ideal if your business isn’t conducting large volumes of transactions.
Determine a Cryptocurrency Strategy
Now that your business is able to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, you will need to decide whether to hold the digital assets or to convert them to fiat. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be volatile; while holding onto cryptocurrencies for the long run could result in potential financial gain, converting your assets to fiat could also protect you from any major downward price movements of the assets.