What Are the Advantages of Paying with Bitcoin?
Bitcoin has been with us for more than a decade now, and while skeptics say that it has failed as a means of currency and payments, the reality is far different.
While it’s true that currently, only El Salvador accepts BTC as legal tender, there are plenty of countries talking about following in El Salvador’s footsteps. And in the meantime, many companies around the world accept Bitcoin payments online to pay for goods and services with more businesses hopping on board all the time!
The Advantages of Using Bitcoin As a Payment Method
1. User Autonomy
Having money in a bank account or even keeping cash always comes with certain risks and restrictions, despite the fact that it’s your money.
For instance, banks can suffer major crashes, banks can literally take money from owners’ accounts to repay debts that haven't been previously authorized, and money can lose value from inflation. These types of situations highlight that money in a bank or in your hand is more in the banks’ control than your own control.
However, Bitcoin, in theory, offers owners autonomy and control since the cryptocurrency is not regulated or controlled by a banking or government authority.
Your Bitcoin is yours to control and the value is not dependent on government percentages, inflation, or centralized economic crashes. This level of autonomy helps keep your BTC safer and is often seen as a safer way to store money.
2. The Transactions Are Pseudonymous
When you carry out any kind of online transaction such as ordering goods online or transferring money from one bank account to another, a ton of information is required.
For example, if you send your friend money, your bank needs their name, account numbers, and often home address. Buying online requires your banking information, home address, telephone number, email, and maybe even an I.D number such as a passport number.
In each situation, a lot of personal information is needed for basic transitions which understandably, many people often feel uncomfortable about. While all the information and data checking may help prevent you from becoming a victim of fraud, it also means there is a whole heap of third parties out there with a lot of private and valuable information.
However, Bitcoin transactions are pseudonymous. While pseudonymous is not the same as anonymous, it’s not far off. For Bitcoin transactions, only the blockchain address is required, and an owner can have multiple addresses set up at once.
So, you will have to use one of your addresses for the transaction but you don’t have to provide any more information than this keeping the whole process almost anonymous.
3. Bitcoin Transactions Are Conducted On a Peer-to-Peer Basis
Because the Bitcoin system for payments is peer-to-peer, owners can send and/or receive payments to anyone else on the network all over the world. Therefore, users don’t need approval or authorization from an external authority for the transactions to go through.
Although it’s worth mentioning that this lack of authorization doesn’t include any time the sending or receiving is coming from a regulated institution.
4. Zero Banking Fees with Bitcoin
Have you ever added up how much you have to pay out in banking fees each year? It’s probably best not to since you could be paying for more than you realize.
Between maintenance fees, overdraft fees, transaction fees, and other standard fees throughout the year, you end up paying a depressing amount of money for seemingly nothing in return.
However, keeping Bitcoin in your online wallet doesn’t work like a bank account and therefore, you have none of the charges associated with a bank account. You can keep, send, and receive Bitcoin while paying zero fees as long as you are not enlisting the help of a third party.
5. Low Fees with International Payments
Following on from standard banking fees, we have the fees involved when making international payments. These fees can reach eye-watering sums with both the banking fees and exchange of currency fees. It’s awful to be at the mercy of your bank when they take so much and force you into an exchange rate that is less than ideal.
However, again, with Bitcoin international payments you can expect to pay much less every single time. If you make international payments regularly, you can save a lot of money over time.
6. Payments Anywhere, Anytime
To make payments using your BTC, all you need is an internet connection. Therefore, you can have the most convenient way to pay at all times. It’s unlikely that you won’t have access to the internet, no matter where you are in the world so you’ll never be caught with some way to pay.
7. Irreversible Payments
Aside from if the receiver sends the payment back to you, all Bitcoin payments are irreversible. The benefit of this is that they cannot be changed by a government agency or other financial services. Of course, the downside is, however, that if you do send BTC by mistake, there’s no way to get it back.
8. Secure Transactions
Since BTC is not tangible, it’s impossible for anyone to physically take it from you - unless someone manages to steal your private keys which is something you should never allow happen.
However, since the Bitcoin network has security in place, and the blockchain is there to validate transactions, it’s not possible for anyone to hack you and steal your Bitcoin. Transactions using this crypto are incredibly safe and aside from a few false reports of hacking, no one has ever had their BTC hacked in the traditional sense.
9. Major Accessibility
It’s far easier to use Bitcoin as a payment method than it is a bank. To send money to another user, for example, you just need the wallet address unlike with banking where you need names, home addresses, confirmation numbers, and more. Bitcoin payments are more accessible than traditional banking.
Important Points to Take Away
- Using Bitcoin as a payment method is cheaper, faster, and easier than traditional means such as using a bank account.
- Bitcoin transactions are incredibly safe especially when compared to making banking transactions
- The Lightning Network has to make BTC payments even better
- You don’t need a bank account to make Bitcoin payments or store BTC in the first place
- Bitcoin is accessible to anyone with an internet connection and is more easily available than bank accounts
Bitcoin Payment FAQs
There are several questions that frequently come up in conversations about Bitcoin payments, check them out below.
Can I Use Bitcoin to Make Payments?
The answer to this question is rather vague as it completely depends on the business and its regulations. As of November 2021, only El Salvador accepts BTC as legal tender. In other countries, you can use BTC to pay for certain services or goods online. But again, it depends on the country and business.
Are There Advantages to Using Bitcoin for Carrying Out Transactions?
Yes, there are a few advantages to using Bitcoin for carrying out transactions. The two main advantages you’ll come across are its peer-to-peer focus that means no intermediaries are necessary.
Secondly, its pseudonymous design means that neither party involved in the transaction needs to give any identifying information. Both steps make transactions faster and smoother for everyone.
Do You Have to Pay Fees for Bitcoin Transactions or Not?
Bitcoin transactions themselves can be done without any third-party involvement, thus you won’t have to pay another service. However, owners will have to pay the blockchain network fees to carry out transactions on the network.
Do You Need a Bank Account for Bitcoin Transactions?
No, the great news is that for Bitcoin transactions you don’t need a bank account of any kind. The only things you need for these transactions are an internet connection and an associated address which is on the crypto’s blockchain. Having this address means you can receive and send payments.
If you want to ever ‘cash out’ any of your BTC then you will need a bank account to do so.
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If you would like any more information about starting or expanding your Bitcoin horizon; reach out to us at Mining Syndicate. Our mission is simple: Strengthen the Bitcoin network by enabling small-scale miners to affordably purchase and reliably host miners.
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We look forward to hearing from you, together we are stronger!