Since its inception, cryptocurrency has been a topic of debate, with many believing it to be the holy grail that will liberate the human race, and others looking at it as a massive Ponzi scheme that is bound to end in a disaster.
The truth, of course, is not at either end of the spectrum. Cryptos have their upsides and their downsides, like any other form of payment, and some industries have decided to stay away from them for the time being, while others are readily accepting them.
We take a look at the major companies that have accepted Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a method of payment, and how it’s been going so far.
Microsoft
The software giant was one of the very first companies to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for its apps, games, and software, back in 2014.
In those days, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general were barely known to anyone, and hacking scandals were shaking the whole industry.
However, Microsoft decided to keep steady and keep Bitcoin payments alive, and to date they have probably earned a fortune from the increased value of the Bitcoin they received as payment for their products.
Tesla
Very recently, billionaire entrepreneur and innovator Elon Musk announced that his company Tesla would start accepting Bitcoin payments for its products.
The idea seemed great, and Bitcoin immediately jumped in value quite significantly, but the support for cryptos was not long-lived, as Musk decided it was not in his best interest to promote Bitcoin.
The big downside for Tesla came from the fact that Bitcoin uses incredible amounts of energy to be mined, which goes against the company’s policy of preserving the environment.
Tesla withdrew its support for Bitcoin payments, which also meant that those who were holding to great amounts of the popular cryptocurrency lost a lot of money overnight, and were not happy with Musk.
iGaming Companies
As cryptocurrencies continued to boom, a number of online casinos accepting crypto appeared on the market. These casinos allow users to make deposits in Bitcoin and other cryptos like Ethereum and Dogecoin and even play in these currencies.
Digital money is ideal for online gambling, as it allows players to make somewhat anonymous and private deposits and not have to use their banking information online at all.
Cryptos also work well for players playing in various jurisdictions where gambling deposits have been partially or completely banned in major banks.
With so many convenient features, cryptocurrencies are being used for iGaming more and more often, and a number of major iGaming companies have introduced various crypto payment options into their platforms.
Streaming Platforms
Streaming platforms are actually some of the biggest supporters of crypto currencies, as they make it so easy for their customer to pay for subscriptions or send tips without going through the hassle of traditional banking.
Popular streaming platform Twitch has allowed crypto payments since 2014, which was revolutionary at the time.
While Twitch did suspend crypto payemnts for a while, they are now once again available, and you can make Twitch payments using a number of cryptos including Bitcoin, XRP, PAX, and others.
For the users, making crypto payments at Twitch means they can do it without registering their credit cards with the platform, and the emerging online market makes it very easy and convenient for people to just shuffle their Bitcoin around and make the fastest possible cash payments.
Read more:
What Industries Have Started to Adopt Cryptocurrency?