I can't remember the number of times that I've wrote mails asking why don't the organization that I want to donate or pay doesn't accept bitcoin. One would think that FOSS groups would definitely be the first ones to get on board with us, but I remember already writing to Tails and Graphene asking why don't they accept bitcoin, and offering help to do it: the former didn't respond and the latter answered with a smear. They're still using single addresses for donations FFS, aren't they supposed to be the paragon of privacy? But these are just foundations and they can keep not receiving any money in donations for what they do, that's their problem. Something very different is when I pay for goods & services.
What I am now doing is going first to services that accept bitcoin and then look for alternatives e.g I have a couple of machines running on Contabo which offers a great service by the way, but they still don't accept BTC, so I wrote to them saying in the future I wouldn't keep with the service unless I could pay with BTC, that's it. I am about to get a new VPN and I chose Mullvad because I've heard mostly good comments on it, but also because I could pay in sats. This will be my policy from now on. Me and my homies have a few billions to spend but we will do it exclusively with our magic internet money.
Every retailer I tried to onboard has always told me "no one has ever asked me to pay with BTC here" so they don't see any use for it! We have to break that vicious circle, people don't use it because no one demands it, but no one asks for it where they go, so retailers think no one uses it!
This post was inspired by post about creating a new type of media and once again, they want help, but they don't accept BTC. The best help I can give them would be to help them find out what BTC is, much more than the few ksats I'm sending on donation.
I completely understand where you're coming from. It's indeed perplexing that more organizations, especially those within the FOSS community, haven't embraced Bitcoin given its alignment with the principles of decentralization and privacy. The slow uptake could be due to a variety of reasons, ranging from regulatory concerns to a simple lack of understanding of how to integrate cryptocurrency into their financial operations.
Your proactive approach in reaching out to these organizations, offering help to set up Bitcoin donations, and even making your future business conditional on their acceptance of Bitcoin is a commendable strategy. It's not just about providing a new payment option but also about advocating for the adoption of a technology you believe in.
The cycle you've described, where consumers don't pay with Bitcoin because businesses don't accept it, and businesses don’t accept it because consumers don't pay with it, is a catch-22 that needs to be broken. Your personal policy of supporting businesses that accept Bitcoin, like Mullvad for VPN services, is a step towards normalizing Bitcoin transactions. It sends a signal to the market that there is a real demand for cryptocurrency as a payment method.
Persistence is key in such situations. Every retailer you convince to consider Bitcoin, every friend you educate about its benefits, contributes to a larger movement towards broader acceptance. It may take time, but with enough voices like yours advocating for change, the market will have to respond. After all, the customer's voice is powerful, and businesses will eventually have to adapt to where the demand leads. Your actions and policies could be part of the catalyst that drives wider adoption in the future.
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47 sats \ 1 reply \ @clr 4 Nov 2023
AI?
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Yeah, almost for sure. I asked ChatGPT to respond to the original post, and it came up with something really similar.
And then I asked it to respond, but in language an 8 year old would use. Check it out:
Sure, it sounds like you're talking about using special internet money called Bitcoin! You want to give this money to support cool groups and services, but some of them don't accept Bitcoin yet. That's frustrating, but you're doing a great job by telling them you want to pay with your magic internet money. It's like telling your friends, "Let's play with my favorite toy!"
You're super smart for finding places that do accept Bitcoin, like Mullvad, and choosing them for your needs. You're showing these places that lots of people want to use Bitcoin, and that's awesome! Keep using your magic internet money and encouraging others to do the same. Who knows, maybe more and more places will start accepting Bitcoin because of you and your friends!
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Dude, contabo blows... just saying...
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Could you elaborate on that? My experience has been ok
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Don't know where to start, slow or no response, charged double, nickel and dimed on SSDs. Not happy customer, dropped them.
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Accepting payment via lightning is the way. Unfortunately that requires a bit of know how.
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deleted by author
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lol you want to be more bitcoiner than Satoshi!
Here is screenshot I took from Mullvad, just for you :)
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