Adoption And Suggestions For Bitcoin Cash Merchants

With the growth of inflation hurting millions of people throughout the world, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash have emerged as a viable alternative to fiat payment methods.

Venezuela is an example of a country whose national fiat currency, the bolivar, has fallen due to a variety of internal and foreign economic issues.

For the past four years, Venezuela has been a testing ground for cryptocurrencies. We predict more countries to adopt cryptocurrency as a result of hyperinflation and fiat currency mismanagement.

Onboarding retailers to accept Bitcoin Cash as a payment option necessitates a competent and results-driven strategy.

We can do more than Dash's efforts between 2017 and 2019 or a brief crypto adoption phase with greater organization and preparation.

Customers will be required to pay in BCH as well.

I want to be clear right now that I believe the onboarding process is a success in numerous places throughout the world, with initiatives and volunteers doing an outstanding job.

The merchant adoption program in Venezuela is also yielding dividends, but as I explained in this post: My Experience Adopting Venezuela in the Year, there are a number of difficulties that we must overlook.

Such as:

Lack of customers: While there are a few individuals on the street with BCH in their wallets, the majority of people have fiat in their wallets and mostly use debit cards.

We have some businesses who stopped taking cryptocurrencies after two or three months since they had few or no clients paying with bitcoins.

More incentive for businesses or entrepreneurs: We promised them wonderful exposure as well as free and ongoing counseling, but they were unmotivated, refusing to attend workshops or receive information.

Profit is the sole goal of any trader, business, street seller, or global enterprise.

There aren't many Bitcoin Cash users since there aren't many bitcoin owners in general. This is a user adoption issue that affects all cryptocurrencies and is not unique to Bitcoin Cash.

There are 100 million investors, but most likely just a million users.

Only around 1% of the millions of people who acquired bitcoin in 2020-2021 used it outside of an exchange (by transferring to a non-custodial wallet).

This is slightly different with Bitcoin Cash, although BCH is unlikely to have reached millions of users yet.

I viewed the bitcoin.com map and it seems there were restricted possibilities in some locations of Venezuela.

The efforts largely focus on adoption in Caracas, which is acceptable, but I think we should broaden and integrate at least a few of businesses in every city.

It's critical to increase merchant acceptance in cities where there are now few or no BCH merchants. In these comments, Read.cash user @gertu13 mentioned that there are no retailers in her area (state of Anzoátegui).

Perhaps there are a few Bitcoin Cash users in several Venezuelan cities who don't utilize the currency since there isn't a store nearby that accepts it.

Just a quick read.cash

Money and noise.cash

Thousands of Venezuelans are cash users.

Why wouldn't they want to spend their gratuities directly, buying food or paying for other consumer requirements using BCH?

Are retailers demanding a higher commission for crypto payments, and how can we tell them no when they've already factored in the expense of withdrawal fees and the danger of keeping a volatile asset?

However, I'm confident that consumers would prefer to pay using their mobile BCH wallet rather than withdrawing in fiat currency and waste time and money on fees.

A local survey may assist, but establishing one merchant as a BCH representative hotspot in each location would be a good beginning step.

User Experience and Crypto Education

Crypto education for both consumers and businesses should be included in resource allocation.

Beyond the current marketing, finding Bitcoin Cash users who would write articles or create video material about their experience paying for products and services using Bitcoin Cash would be beneficial.

When it comes straight from the customer, this is the best kind of advertising. Word of mouth is quite powerful. It is critical to educate the people and explain the features of Bitcoin Cash as solid money.

A excellent project would be for a few crypto-savvy Venezuelans to start a BCH community and live exclusively on the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin BCH is a revolutionary currency that empowers individuals, and I'm confident that in some Venezuelan cities, people can exist without using any other currency except Bitcoin Cash.

Adoption Costs on the Merchant Side

If clients pay with BCH, and the cost of operations isn't prohibitive for the shop, Bitcoin Cash will most likely become a payment option.

The following are the first questions a merchant will ask:

"How readily and at what expense can they convert BCH to dollars or bolivars?"

Any sensible trader will instantly ask this question.

At this point, education is critical, but I doubt they will always get the economics of Bitcoin Cash. BCH is best described as "sound money" that does not inflate and is unaffected by fiat currency hyperinflation.

Explaining the fast transaction speed and minimal costs, as well as providing booklets on Bitcoin Cash in general, are both essential.

They can always utilize BCH without ever selling it for fiat currencies if there is a large network of other shops accepting BCH at the same area.

Is Bitcoin Cash revenue being withdrawn in Bolivar, and why aren't they using Bitcoin Cash instead?

If merchants are concerned about volatility and prefer a less volatile currency, they will most likely sell to USD or a stable coin right away.

If a merchant or company wishes to convert BCH to a stablecoin or fiat cash right away, they must calculate:

The cost of directly exchanging to Bolivar from their wallet

The fee for withdrawing Bolivars from a bank.

The time it takes for them to locate and use the monies in their account.

The dollar is not legal cash in Venezuela, and based on this post (Venezuela, currencies, and technology..., by @zulfrontado), I came to the conclusion that banks in Venezuela are similar to those in other countries. Because the dollar is not legal money, not everyone can open a USD account.

Also, although the sites I read give varied estimations, the Bolivar is currently undergoing hyperinflation (600 percent - 2000 percent ). Because the country is still experiencing hyperinflation, carrying Bolivars for more than a few days is not financially prudent.

With a rate of 2000 percent inflation, the Bolivar is likely to lose 5% of its value per day, necessitating quick consumption and market usage.

The merchants are aware of this, otherwise they would be out of business from the start.

If the withdrawal process takes more than two days, they will incur a significant financial loss.

The entire process of liquidation into fiat appears to be inefficient for businesses. It could work in a country where the fiat currency is steady, but not with the Bolivar.

A Tax Bill Can Be Beneficial

The recent announcement of a Venezuelan tax law on cryptocurrency transactions (New Tax Law for Cryptocurrencies in Venezuela) may aid adoption.

While Bitcoin Cash does not require official permission or regulation, a businessman does not want to annoy the government by using a payment method that is incompatible with the state's financial system and networks.

A sizable portion of the corporate sector still believes that cryptocurrency is a fraud. Most businesses will refuse to take any payment method that is not recognized by the government.

Cryptocurrency transactions are regulated and become legal tender by taxation. It depends on the specifics of the statement, but the imposed fees should not be a deterrent to bitcoin adoption.

As An Example, Dash in Venezuela

We recall how many Venezuelans tried with Dash and a few other cryptocurrencies in 2017.

Dash had a large campaign in Venezuela that was extensively promoted in the crypto media (Coindesk, Cointelegraph, etc.), and as a beginner to crypto in 2017, I believed Dash would achieve mainstream acceptance based on how it was portrayed.

The advertising appeared to be having a positive impact, but were Venezuelans educated on Dash or cryptocurrency in general?

Or were they just getting the campaign's Dash tokens and selling them right away?

The Dash campaign ultimately failed, since adoption of Dash in Venezuela fell to zero after it ceased. I don't want this to happen to Bitcoin Cash, and while a few initiatives are underway, perhaps a different strategy is needed.

Do we want a campaign that results in genuine users and adoption? We need users who will locate the money they need in Bitcoin Cash and then bring in other individuals.

More retailers will be attracted to Bitcoin Cash as a result of crypto education and the promotion of localized success stories.

Keep the Bitcoin.com Map updated.

This is a comment on BCH acceptance worldwide, not just in Venezuela.

I searched the bitcoin.com map and frequently came across listings that were no longer operational, with websites taken down and likely businesses closed.

When onboarding merchants or users of the Bitcoin Cash wallet, the map of merchant adoption is a fantastic tool that should always be explained.

However, it must transmit accurate facts. Perhaps someone should be hired to double-check the data submissions and call the businesses for more information.

It may also be utilized to do more research by contacting retailers and inquiring about their experiences with BCH payments.

Owners of Bitcoin Cash should be able to use this tool to locate live stores or services that accept the cryptocurrency.

Thousands of locations are recorded on the Bitcoin Cash acceptance map in Caracas, for example.

It would not be a big deal if a dozen of them cease taking Bitcoin Cash, but what if half of them don't?

Or perhaps you've updated your contact information, relocated, changed your phone number, or shut down entirely?

The legitimacy of the BCH merchant entries should be updated and maintained by someone or a team.

Can merchants use cryptocurrency cards as a solution?

If a merchant does not want to be exposed to BCH volatility, stable currencies may be able to help. Sell to USDT or FlexUSD and save the cash in a wallet until they're needed.

BitPay and Gocrypto, for example, may be programmed to instantaneously liquidate into cash on the receiver's side, and both are extensively utilized across the world.

Perhaps crypto cards (Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com) can assist the merchant in this method, however for the time being, I haven't discovered anything linked to Bitcoin Cash (although bitcoin.com advertises a few of them here).

However, I'm not sure if crypto cards function with Venezuela's POS network, and using these cards normally comes at a premium, depending on exchange rates, fees, and bank network rules.

Finally, more data and feedback are needed to define adoption.

This section was originally written regarding merchant feedback and crucial data that might help us determine how adoption is moving. (source)

A need for input exists. It is a required procedure that involves vital information that must be retrieved in order to assess the outcome of a crypto adoption project.

This comprises:

Merchant feedback and data on BCH usage in their businesses.

Perhaps a survey should be completed by merchants after a given amount of time (3 months or 6 months), with an additional reward for doing so.

We absolutely must know:

How many consumers do these companies have overall, and how many of them utilize BCH? (market-penetration level)

What happens to the BCH that merchants receive? Do they sell it for dollars or Bolivars right away?

Levels of merchant and client experience (questionnaires)

Are retailers promoting BCH as a payment option to others? (The best advertisement is word of mouth.)

Are these businesses accepting Bitcoin Cash as payment for products and services?

It's tough to gauge market penetration without accurate data and feedback from merchants.

If you jump on board and don't look back, it will just be a temporary operation.

We must give genuine quantities and numbers, as well as data from the onboarded organizations. In marketing, numbers are crucial.

Valid data from all BCH merchants may be difficult to get. A Google sheet with only three or four records can be sufficient to derive key findings. There may be a financial incentive for merchants to fill these out, and it would be even better if they included their public address so that the data could be confirmed on-chain.

Perhaps this is too much to expect, but having accurate statistics will aid in better marketing of Bitcoin Cash, and I believe similar concerns existed with the previous Dash project in Venezuela.