Cryptocurrency is a revolution in online commerce. The opportunities to transform the way we buy and sell are endless. But it’s easier said than done.

The crypto market is still in its infancy, and there are plenty of obstacles standing between crypto becoming standard currency for online payments (like price volatility). Still, if you’re looking for a way to shake up your business model—or just want to know how the future will look—keep reading.

Crypto in e-Commerce Today

Cryptocurrency is already being used in e-commerce. Companies like Coinbase, which has raised millions in funding, serves as a payment processor to facilitate Bitcoin transactions. You can use it to pay for products and services online at places like Overstock.com and Expedia or you can even purchase gift cards with your cryptocurrency funds.

Ecommerce businesses that accept cryptocurrency payments have seen an increase in sales. This study shows that nearly half of those who buy with cryptocurrency are willing to spend twice as much compared to credit card spenders.

If you’re looking for reason to start accepting crypto at your store, here are four to get you going.

4 Reasons Crypto Is the Future of Online Shopping

Cryptocurrency is an emerging form of digital payment that can be used online. The benefits of using cryptocurrency to shop online are threefold: security, privacy, and cost savings.

Heightened privacy, security, and anonymity

The overall greatest benefit of cryptocurrency is its potential for privacy, security, and anonymity. Because of the way it’s designed, blockchain-based digital currencies allow users to make transactions without leaving behind a paper trail.

In fact, this aspect is one of the main reasons why cryptocurrency has become so popular in recent years: it allows people to buy and sell things online without having their identities tied back to their bank accounts or other financial institutions (which can sometimes be used as an invasion of privacy).

This also means that there aren’t any credit card transactions necessary—you simply pay with your crypto wallet instead. This makes buying things online much easier than ever before because it doesn’t require any personal information about you at all; just put in your cryptocurrency payment info once and then nothing else needs updating unless something goes wrong with your account itself later on down the line.

• No credit score to worry about
• No applications for credit cards through banks
• No monitoring of income
• No risk of identity theft
• No card to get stolen

Fraud and Chargeback Protection

The privacy and security benefits for consumers apply also to merchants. There’s little risk of fraud and no chargebacks.

Chargebacks are a big concern for merchants because they can lose money and have to pay a payment processing fee when customers chargeback their purchases. With bitcoin, there’s no way for customers to chargeback; once you’ve received your coin (BTC, ETH, etc.), the transaction is logged on the blockchain and can’t be disputed.

This is next-level security that we can’t wait to see implemented on more online stores.

Cross-Border Payments

Cryptocurrency is a global currency, which means transactions can be made from any corner of the world. In addition, there’s no need to convert currencies as they’re automatically converted when needed by a cryptocurrency exchange or broker.

No more worrying about dynamic currency conversion, offshore merchant accounts, or foreign transaction declines when customers attempt to purchase in currencies other than USD. Crypto simplifies it all as just one global currency.

Through this process, cross-border payments become almost instantaneous: instead of having to wait several days (or even weeks) for your funds to arrive on their destination account, you’ll get paid in seconds or minutes after initiating a transaction.

You also won’t have to pay hefty transaction fees either; while traditional payment providers may charge up to 10% on international transfers and currency exchange rates can hike up to 6%, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin offer an almost frictionless experience at nearly 0% fee in total.

Supply Chain Transparency

Shoppers are increasingly aware of the origins of the products they buy. They want to know that their food is not genetically modified, they want to be sure that the clothes they buy were made in safe conditions, and they want to decrease their carbon footprint.

With cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, you can track where your products come from—no matter what item it is or where it’s being shipped from. This will help small businesses gain insight into supply chains and improve transparency for consumers.

With the aid of blockchain, retailers can create a complete digital ledger of every item that passes through their supply chain. This is especially useful for business owners that want to track high-value items such as diamonds or precious metals. With this information at hand, companies can identify where materials are coming from and ensure they’re not funding conflict zones or human rights violations with their purchases. On top of that, they can ensure the safe arrive of high-ticket goods to avoid theft (fraud and chargebacks, too).

Crypto Is the Future of Online Commerce — And You Can Accept Bitcoin Today

You can get your hands on it right now with a Bitcoin payment gateway with powerful APIs that supports crypto transactions from several types of cryptocurrency. It’s a great way to attract new customers, especially if you’re in an industry where cryptocurrency adoption is growing rapidly.

Offering cryptocurrencies as a payment option allows your business to tap into this vibrant community and potentially earn more revenue by offering them what they want: a faster, safer way to pay online.

The best part is accepting crypto at your point of sale could be as simple as installing a plugin. You won’t have to give up accepting fiat currencies (e.g., US dollars). Instead, customers will have yet another payment button they can choose.

Conclusion

For merchants and consumers alike, cryptocurrency has the potential to revolutionize online commerce. Not only can crypto be used as a medium of exchange, but also as a means of payment that offers enhanced privacy, security and anonymity.

As cryptocurrencies begin to gain legitimacy, merchants will begin using them more frequently in their businesses. This means that consumers will have more options about where they spend their money — wherever there’s an internet connection.

Want to set up a crypto payment gateway on your checkout page? Get in touch with us and we’ll help secure your payments ecosystem for the future of commerce and support the payment methods your customers want.