The Tipping Point: Kroger, Starbucks May Ignite Retail Crypto

[Sandus_Cryptolover]

It's no secret that cryptocurrencies don't receive many plaudits in the mainstream media as reliable means of payment. Critics have even claimed that Bitcoin "sucks" as a payment mechanism.

Yet, despite that blinkered skepticism, cryptocurrency payments actually grew last year. Payment processor BitPay reported a "record" $1 billion in transaction revenue in 2018, with its business-to-business (B2B) operations increasing by 255 percent compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the use of cryptocurrencies in such economically unstable countries as Venezuela and India has surged, as people turn to the likes of Bitcoin and Dash to escape from increasingly worthless national currencies.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/tipping-point-kroger-starbucks-may-ignite-retail-crypto

[1714247799]

1714247799

[avikz]

Fact check:
India's economy is not unstable, rather it is more stable than many EU countries. Venezuela is facing hyper inflation which is nowhere related to India's economy. The reason for India's adoption of crypto is completely different than the reason of Venezuela.

Starbucks is a premium coffee chain and frankly how many people drink their coffee on a daily basis? So Startbucks accepting bitcoin is not a big news in terms of adoption! However, Kroger accepting it, is a great news for adoption. Because grocery and medical supplies is something everyone needs on a regular basis. That's where it really shows a ray of hope for more mainstream adoption.

Few months back we have seen a news that Rolls Royce was considering crypto payment option and that didn't excite me really! Because Rolls Royce is a premium car brand and only ultra rich people can afford one. It would have made more sense to me if it was Toyota or GM, rather than Rolls Royce!

[muslol67]

Let us be a little realistic; How many of us do this by using BTC if Starbuck's accepts payments with BTC today? I will not. Because our goal is not to use crypts.
We need time for this. Cryptocurrencies are an investment tool for all of us as long as we don't get our revenue with crypto.

[hacker1001101001]

Fact check:
India's economy is not unstable, rather it is more stable than many EU countries. Venezuela is facing hyper inflation which is nowhere related to India's economy. The reason for India's adoption of crypto is completely different than the reason of Venezuela.

I totally agree with this India in no way, can be compared to Venezuela in sense of economic conditions. India is a very stable econimic power with huge number of people still living in a well diversed and economically stable way.

[btyco]

India cannot be compared with anyone, they are a contiuously banning and unbanning the purchase of crypto. I don't know where they are now, probably banned in some way but allowing limited trades

[dothebeats]

It's amazing to see that cryptopayments still surged albeit the continuous lackluster performance of the markets for 2 years now. I'd say adoption is still somewhat increasing, though at a slow yet steady pace. I'm keen to hear more stories apart from a premium coffee chain accepting bitcoin payments, though that per se is already one start but could still be topped by other, more Joe-friendly niche in the economy. Starbucks is for premium coffee lovers, and knowing how a lot of these guys work/move, they'd rather pay in credit cards or cash than to meddle with bitcoin. I just hope that 2019 sees the adoption of bitcoin and cryptopayments with services not removing the option later on.

[tomahawk9]

Few months back we have seen a news that Rolls Royce was considering crypto payment option and that didn't excite me really! Because Rolls Royce is a premium car brand and only ultra rich people can afford one. It would have made more sense to me if it was Toyota or GM, rather than Rolls Royce!

But Rolls Royce accepting crypto could have a snowball effect in the automobile market, at least in the long run. If an exclusive brand like Rolls Royce is willing to adopt crypto, and it actually sees some sort of "success" as in there are actually people willing to pay in crypto for cars, there's a chance that other companies with affordable cars (like Toyota or GM) can follow the same strategy as Rolls Royce. So, I wouldn't underestimate that news

[gentlemand]

Few months back we have seen a news that Rolls Royce was considering crypto payment option and that didn't excite me really! Because Rolls Royce is a premium car brand and only ultra rich people can afford one. It would have made more sense to me if it was Toyota or GM, rather than Rolls Royce!

It's one group of car dealers. They sell Rolls Royces. It's nothing to do with Rolls Royce.

Nothing's going to ignite crypto retail. There's no advantage for the average person to use it. It's unstable, unwieldy and less secure considering the average person's practices. Retail arrives after people use it for other purposes like saving.

[Ayiranorea]

Fact check:
India's economy is not unstable, rather it is more stable than many EU countries. Venezuela is facing hyper inflation which is nowhere related to India's economy. The reason for India's adoption of crypto is completely different than the reason of Venezuela.

Starbucks is a premium coffee chain and frankly how many people drink their coffee on a daily basis? So Startbucks accepting bitcoin is not a big news in terms of adoption! However, Kroger accepting it, is a great news for adoption. Because grocery and medical supplies is something everyone needs on a regular basis. That's where it really shows a ray of hope for more mainstream adoption.

Few months back we have seen a news that Rolls Royce was considering crypto payment option and that didn't excite me really! Because Rolls Royce is a premium car brand and only ultra rich people can afford one. It would have made more sense to me if it was Toyota or GM, rather than Rolls Royce!

That's a clear check, all that's been mentioned is the truth. None could have thought about it in the similar way. Starbucks being a premium brand didn't continue the service as they didn't gained the targeted profit through bitcoin acceptance. India is perfectly stable in its economy compared to rest of the countries in the world. The crisis that took place by the year 2007-2008 is the proof for the same. To experience growth the acceptance and adoption need to begin from the low bottom which is the common people.

[posi]

Fact check:
India's economy is not unstable, rather it is more stable than many EU countries. Venezuela is facing hyper inflation which is nowhere related to India's economy. The reason for India's adoption of crypto is completely different than the reason of Venezuela.

Starbucks is a premium coffee chain and frankly how many people drink their coffee on a daily basis? So Startbucks accepting bitcoin is not a big news in terms of adoption! However, Kroger accepting it, is a great news for adoption. Because grocery and medical supplies is something everyone needs on a regular basis. That's where it really shows a ray of hope for more mainstream adoption.

Few months back we have seen a news that Rolls Royce was considering crypto payment option and that didn't excite me really! Because Rolls Royce is a premium car brand and only ultra rich people can afford one. It would have made more sense to me if it was Toyota or GM, rather than Rolls Royce!

I agree with what you said about the Star bucks,grocery and medical setting because major of people can get their coffee at home while medicine and foods are something almost every individual need sometime. However, i disagree with what you said about the Rolls Royce implementation of bitcoin payment option because we need the rich people to join the crypto scheme because most of them are friends to some of the government who are against bitcoin and if we have as cryptoneir some of  the government may consider bitcoin as legal payment.

[Pursuer]

It's no secret that cryptocurrencies don't receive many plaudits in the mainstream media as reliable means of payment.
Yet, despite that blinkered skepticism, cryptocurrency payments actually grew last year. Payment processor BitPay reported a "record" $1 billion in transaction revenue in 2018, with its business-to-business (B2B) operations increasing by 255 percent compared to the previous year.

you are using the term "cryptocurrency(ies)" where in fact you are talking about bitcoin!
Bitpay's stats for payments that they have processed for merchants are from bitcoin not "cryptocurrencies"! it is bitcoin that 99.9% of the merchants are accepting and it is bitcoin that users are paying them not other altcoins.

so when people say "cryptocurrencies" are not reliable ways of payment they are correct because they are talking about 2500 altcoins not only 1 bitcoin!

[Kakmakr]

Fact check:

Starbucks is a premium coffee chain and frankly how many people drink their coffee on a daily basis? So Startbucks accepting bitcoin is not a big news in terms of adoption!

I disagree. When a global franchise like Startbucks make bold decisions like this, you get a ripple affect on the smaller retail industry, because they look at the bigger franchises for guidance. On January 9, 2014, Overstock.com became the first major retailer to start accepting bitcoin as payments for its goods and this caused a flood of smaller retailers, who followed their example.

This decision is also crucial, because a lot of people criticised Bitcoin in the early days for not being cost affective enough to buy something as inexpensive as a cup of coffee. We are now showing the world that Bitcoin matured enough, that you can buy a cup of coffee with Bitcoin now.  

[NeuroticFish]

Fact check:

Starbucks is a premium coffee chain and frankly how many people drink their coffee on a daily basis? So Startbucks accepting bitcoin is not a big news in terms of adoption!

I disagree. When a global franchise like Startbucks make bold decisions like this, you get a ripple affect on the smaller retail industry, because they look at the bigger franchises for guidance. On January 9, 2014, Overstock.com became the first major retailer to start accepting bitcoin as payments for its goods and this caused a flood of smaller retailers, who followed their example.

This decision is also crucial, because a lot of people criticised Bitcoin in the early days for not being cost affective enough to buy something as inexpensive as a cup of coffee. We are now showing the world that Bitcoin matured enough, that you can buy a cup of coffee with Bitcoin now.  

Haters gonna hate, you know. The fact that you'll be able to buy a coffee inexpensive and in a not-too-long period of time is indeed something worth telling, but the haters will clearly ignore that.

On the other hand, Starbucks can do "magic". People learn from each other. And when one will see how easily did another pay with Bitcoin, his views may change, he may start ignoring the haters and follow the facts (and start using Bitcoin). This will happen in addition to what you said about smaller businesses copying what Starbucks do.

[proTECH77]

Fact check:
~~~~~  It would have made more sense to me if it was Toyota or GM, rather than Rolls Royce!

YES! because even the commoners can afford Toyota and GM compare to Rolls Royce which was made for the elite. Although that's also a positive move toward the adoption of cryptocurrency. Hopeful to see more of adoption coming before the end of 2019 and early 2020 before the Halving.  

[shamc]

It's the name that counts. Hardly anyone will waste their precious bitcoins on coffee, but everyone who visits the chain will see it as a payment option giving it more credibility

[Herbert2020]

Fact check:
...

that is no the "fact", because you are missing the point.

THIS is the point:
imagine two different times. 2008 to 2010ish and 2016 and forward.
in the first era bitcoin is virtual and a bunch of numbers on a computer that has no meaning although it has value, you can't call it currency because it is not used as a currency. on top of that near the end of the era bitcoin's usage in dark net grows and mainly it is used for illegal activities.

now fast forward to the second era. bitcoin is used as a currency, the usage in dark net is so small that it is negligible (specially with real anon coins) and it has not gained real meaning as a currency and is actually being used as one.
in this era that there are still newbies who are caught up in the first era's mentality and when there is a lot of FUD which is spreading misinformation, we get big franchises accepting bitcoin as payment. that is great even if nobody uses it because it simply is removing all that FUD in one swoop.

[ribowo76]

Whatever the views of people about this, I personally believe. That this can trigger other institutions to follow it, so that it will give a domino effect

[eternalgloom]

Fact check:

Starbucks is a premium coffee chain and frankly how many people drink their coffee on a daily basis? So Startbucks accepting bitcoin is not a big news in terms of adoption!

I disagree. When a global franchise like Startbucks make bold decisions like this, you get a ripple affect on the smaller retail industry, because they look at the bigger franchises for guidance. On January 9, 2014, Overstock.com became the first major retailer to start accepting bitcoin as payments for its goods and this caused a flood of smaller retailers, who followed their example.

This decision is also crucial, because a lot of people criticised Bitcoin in the early days for not being cost affective enough to buy something as inexpensive as a cup of coffee. We are now showing the world that Bitcoin matured enough, that you can buy a cup of coffee with Bitcoin now.  

Sure, there might have been a bit of a ripple effect when Overstock started accepting Bitcoin, but let's not forget that this could also have negative consequences.
Remember when Steam started accepting Bitcoin?

Just a few months later they stopped accepting Bitcoin, which is about the worst kind of 'advertising' you could get.

It would be far better if companies either waited to accept Bitcoin until the general public was ready to use it or if they would stick with it, despite any issues that might arise.

In the case of Overstock, I'm glad they stuck with it and still accept Bitcoin today, but I'd rather have other companies wait until they are 100% behind it.
Not just accept it, to then roll back the decision a few months/years later. 

[Kakmakr]

Fact check:

Starbucks is a premium coffee chain and frankly how many people drink their coffee on a daily basis? So Startbucks accepting bitcoin is not a big news in terms of adoption!

I disagree. When a global franchise like Startbucks make bold decisions like this, you get a ripple affect on the smaller retail industry, because they look at the bigger franchises for guidance. On January 9, 2014, Overstock.com became the first major retailer to start accepting bitcoin as payments for its goods and this caused a flood of smaller retailers, who followed their example.

This decision is also crucial, because a lot of people criticised Bitcoin in the early days for not being cost affective enough to buy something as inexpensive as a cup of coffee. We are now showing the world that Bitcoin matured enough, that you can buy a cup of coffee with Bitcoin now.  

Sure, there might have been a bit of a ripple effect when Overstock started accepting Bitcoin, but let's not forget that this could also have negative consequences.
Remember when Steam started accepting Bitcoin?

Just a few months later they stopped accepting Bitcoin, which is about the worst kind of 'advertising' you could get.

It would be far better if companies either waited to accept Bitcoin until the general public was ready to use it or if they would stick with it, despite any issues that might arise.

In the case of Overstock, I'm glad they stuck with it and still accept Bitcoin today, but I'd rather have other companies wait until they are 100% behind it.
Not just accept it, to then roll back the decision a few months/years later.  

How many people got introduced to Bitcoin for the first time, when Steam started to accept Bitcoin for the first time? I was part of a group of people who dumped massive amounts of tips <ChangeTip> on Reddit users who wanted to try Bitcoin for the first time and we made it rain on them, when Steam made this announcement for the first time.

A lot of those people might still be using Bitcoin, even after Steam stopped supporting Bitcoin. We just need to get our foot in the door, to trigger adoption in a specific market segment.  

[Nadziratel]

It's no secret that cryptocurrencies don't receive many plaudits in the mainstream media as reliable means of payment. Critics have even claimed that Bitcoin "sucks" as a payment mechanism.

Yet, despite that blinkered skepticism, cryptocurrency payments actually grew last year. Payment processor BitPay reported a "record" $1 billion in transaction revenue in 2018, with its business-to-business (B2B) operations increasing by 255 percent compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the use of cryptocurrencies in such economically unstable countries as Venezuela and India has surged, as people turn to the likes of Bitcoin and Dash to escape from increasingly worthless national currencies.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/tipping-point-kroger-starbucks-may-ignite-retail-crypto

Actually, it's not just Bitpay. Small businesses in a very far eastern country even accept payment by crypto. At this point, big companies such as Starbucks can be effective.

But there is a problem with me; current exchange rate. A reliable online platform for individual P2P exchanges should offer a considerable price. I think it should be preserved about rates in both seller and buyer manner.

Nowadays, there is an increasing number of projects working on the payment with crypto money. However, most of them work in the form of instant Crypto-Fiat-Crypto. As it's supposed to be. Already crypto-crypto in the form of a tool is not needed.