At least a third of small and medium-sized businesses in the US accept cryptocurrency. Should you join them?
How do you become a Bitcoin business?
Find out here what you need to know to profit from Bitcoin business opportunities.
Create a Bitcoin Wallet
To start accepting Bitcoin, you need a Bitcoin address where customers will send their payments. You can use a tablet or smartphone to let your customers pay with their phones. If you have an online storefront, you’ll add a plugin to process Bitcoin.
Direct Payments or Payment Processor?
You may want to use a payment processor if your business handles a high volume of transactions each day. A processor can also be helpful if you have a complex sales process.
You’ll pay either a monthly fee or a percentage of your usage to use a payment processor. These payments will probably still be much less expensive than the fees you pay for credit card processing or PayPal.
Payment processors offer other services like email invoices. The service provider can set up a point of sale (POS) system or add a shopping cart plugin to your online store.
Advertise That You’re a Bitcoin Business
Help Bitcoin users find you by putting a “Bitcoin Accepted Here” button on your online storefront with your other payment information. You can put stickers on the door and cash register of your brick-and-mortar store locations.
Accounting and Taxes
Accepting Bitcoin can complicate your tax situation. You’ll need to keep careful and detailed records of your Bitcoin transactions to report the value of each payment accurately.
The IRS considers virtual currencies to be property not currency. Be sure that your accountant is up-to-date on the regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies so you can avoid any potential problems.
Security
When you set up your Bitcoin wallet, you’ll need to use best practices to secure it. You shouldn’t keep large amounts of Bitcoin on your computer, phone, or server. Just like you wouldn’t keep thousands of dollars in your cash register overnight, storing the majority of your Bitcoin in a safer environment is a good practice.
Keep a backup of your wallet in a safe place. You should encrypt the backup to protect it against malicious software. Using multiple locations like USB keys, papers, and CDs also helps protect your backup.
Be sure to use a strong but memorable password. You have very few options to recover your password with Bitcoin. Keeping a paper copy of your password in a secure place like a vault is a good idea.
Finally, always keep your software up to date. You’ll receive any security fixes and prevent problems.
Additional Opportunities with Cryptocurrencies
Once you become a Bitcoin business, you’ll start to see the benefits of allowing cryptocurrency transactions. You may be ready to see what else cryptocurrency can do for your business.
You can earn passive income through a process called staking. You hold cryptocurrency funds in your wallet to support the security and operation of the blockchain network.
In return for holding funds locked up, you earn rewards. Usually, you receive a fixed percentage every year. You can learn more here about staking opportunities.
Becoming a Bitcoin Business
Alternative payment methods can bring your business many advantages. Becoming a Bitcoin business can help you attract new customers. As you expand into other cryptocurrencies, you can earn passive income through staking.
Even if Bitcoin payments start out as only a small part of your business, they can give you a competitive edge.
Keep reading for more business success tips like this.