Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is now witnessing an increase in acceptance and demand by the retailers. As per the latest reports, there has been a spike in the number of online stores accepting this cryptocurrency. According to Marco Coino, more than 670 bricks and mortar retailers handle transactions in cryptocurrency. At present, it’s over 900. Marco Coino data shows that the greatest concentration of merchants accepting BCH is in Europe. “About 134 physical stores in North America, 120 in Australia and 75 in Asia accept BCH.” An analysis reveals that most of the merchants that are accepting digital currency are independent and small outlets. Lush, a cosmetics chain is accepting Bitcoin Cash as well as larger retailers such as Newegg and Overstock.
The acceptance of BCH is attributed to BitPay. Founded in 2011, BitPay, according to the information on its official website, is currently the largest Bitcoin payment processor in the world. BitPay is a seamless, secure bitcoin payment experience used by thousands of bitcoin users worldwide. Stephen Pair, the CEO of the company, predicted in December 2018 that mass cryptocurrency adoption was just a few years away. Binance is another platform encouraging consumers to take up cryptocurrency. CNN highlights that Binance has partnered with Tripio, hotel booking platform, to allow its users to book from a selection of 450,000 hotels and pay with Binance coin (BNB).
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Financial experts have accepted the fact that compared to traditional means of money transactions, digital currency brings about fast and inexpensive transactions. Debit and Credit card charge a hefty fee of 3.5 percent for every transaction whereas, with cryptocurrency, the fees are normally $1 or less for cryptocurrency-based purchases. Cryptocurrency has achieved steady growth in Africa for the payment of goods and services.
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Merchants increasingly showing interesting in accepting cryptocurrency is a good start to 2019. According to BCH price predictions, the increasing adoption will affect positively on the price of Bitcoin Cash. This suggests that more people and businesses are turning towards the digital currency as it’s a more of a viable option. But more needs to be done regarding security.
