I'm interested in adding bitcoins to one of the merchants I support. The benefits I forsee are the transaction fees *appear* low, and it seems really cool.
Caveat I have before I pitch the owner is that I've not worked with them before, so I'd like to hear any feedback on positive or negative interactions.
Thanks in advance!
What are your goals in adopting BitCoin as a payment option? Getting clear on that will help people advise you about how BitCoin might work for you.
If you're just looking for a cheaper alternative than credit cards, you might look into Dwolla (http://dwolla.com), started by a small business owner who was tired of paying CC fees.
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Dwolla is pretty cool, incidentally. I'm not happy with the slowness of their improvement of the interface in how they work with the banks...but that is driven in large part by the banks.
Kristen,
Sorry for the late reply; I didn't see your note. I will remember to harass the UI people about this!
That being said, short term asset held for sale. It will probably get a FAS comment eventually, as you may discount the Coins, but you can't discount the concept (think of them like bearer bonds that are self-referential). Way too complex for your average central banker*, but eventually they will have to make a determination.
Cheers,
KP
*I've actually spoken recently to Fed bankers who seem to believe that USD converts to gold, or something like it. When you catch them in their error, they stop, and then fall back on "who do you trust"? Yes, the above is *plural* deliberately. What they are missing in general, however, is coins aren't about $, it is about verifying that a transaction has occurred in a manner that prevents repudiation but is non-the-less anonymous. Incredibly powerful.
BitCoin is being sued by some of its members for missing funds - read more here http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=23973
Given a better alternative to bitcoin like PayPal for p2p or even consumer to business payments, I wouldn't waste time on bitcoin.
Anand,
Bitcoinica, not Bitcoin. That being said, yes, Bitcoin is new and therefore not as robust, especially in terms of the exchanges that serve it, so there is some
Ram,
Dwolla is very interesting...thanks for the pointer. It seems similar to the European approach, which means that I expect that 1) this won't play in Europe, and; 2) if it *does* get traction here, we might finally see an end to the archaic ACH. The industry won't give up ACH without a fight, so it is nice to see someone undermining it.
I have a client using Bitcoins and I would be interested in getting feedback regarding how to book Bitcoins on the Balance Sheet and the monthly valuation changes. This client has earned Bitcoins in exchange for services but has not yet cashed then in. Would you treat this the same as holding an investment?
