“Introducing a new currency is always going to present a challenge, but Bitcoin has the potential to transform the business landscape,” Helen Child, an expert in prepayments, remarks.
Helen’s company, Striding Edge, provides advice and support to a wide range of businesses and organisations.
“Transactions with Bitcoins are generally far quicker than wire transactions or payment by cheque, around 10 minutes should the merchant requires blockchain confirmation,” Helen observes.
But speed is not the only advantage Bitcoin enjoys.
How Safe is Bitcoin?
“Bitcoin doesn’t actually exist but this is its advantage. It can’t be manipulated or modified. You store it in a digital wallet with a private key to open it. You can access your wallet via a mobile or web-based app”
Helen Child, Striding Edge
Alongside your private key you have a public key, which is your Bitcoin address. The combination of the public and private keys provides a certificate to prove the transaction is your own and has not come from somewhere else.
“Keep your private key properly private and you’re safe,” Helen advises. “People cannot steal the purchases you make from online merchants because you don’t part with any secret information to make the transaction.”
Credit cards have had to adapt to a digital landscape and so involve having to submit secure information online. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is itself a product of the digital age and is designed to work in this context.
Building Bitcoin’s Reputation
“Early Bitcoin investors were a bit nervous because of the radical nature of it as a currency,” Helen points out. “Its stateless status and lack of regulation had it associated with the black market.”
Now, it is increasingly recognised as very much an enabling form of currency, with a growing number of firms accepting it. It does not involve transaction charges when you use it online where a store says it is accepted.
Unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin is not inflationary, because under its original specification, only a finite number of units will be created.
“There’s no quantitive easing with Bitcoin,” says Helen, “because there won’t be a government or bank printing more of them as part of an economic policy.”
“Other key qualities of Bitcoin trading are to do with privacy and trust,” Helen concludes. “Even though Bitcoin’s blockchain technology is transparent, no one has an individual Bitcoin address. So while your transactions are visible, they are not attributable to you.”
“When it comes to trust, you’re handling your own money. You don’t have to worry about the bank or a third-party payment processor, or even the merchant you’re buying from. You’re not giving out any sensitive information in order to trade with Bitcoins”
Helen Child, Striding Edge
Bitcoin is about having control over your transactions, and full confidence in them. That can only be good for business.
To discover more about how Bitcoin can be good for your business, please call Striding Edge on 07771 563 274 or visit striding-edge-ltd.com
