Background:
I have been working in the IT industry for 10 years and currently hold the position of senior cloud engineer.
I first encountered Bitcoin 8 years ago and have since been a fervent supporter of this revolutionary technology, leading me to delve deeper into the history of monetary systems and currency.
I operate a full Bitcoin node (including lightning) and have developed some integration tools for this ecosystem.
Therefore, I believe I can confidently state that my knowledge of Bitcoin is above average.
Last week, while at a local venue for drinks, I noticed they accepted cryptocurrencies (a rarity in my city and country).
I inquired about paying with Bitcoin, which resulted in total confusion. Eventually, they presented me with a tab containing various QR codes. I scanned the Bitcoin one with my lightning wallet and noticed it was a SegWit address (bc1) on layer 0.
When I asked if I could pay with lightning to avoid the high fees and long confirmation times associated with transactions on the main blockchain, they were clueless.
This experience made me realize that while we often say "we are so early", we may not fully grasp just how early we are.
The venue is run by young, eager, and knowledgeable individuals with a sleek website for ordering via a tablet-based system, yet despite accepting crypto, they demonstrated a limited understanding of what they were dealing with.
In reality, the idea of becoming a Bitcoin consultant has been on my mind for a while, but this experience confirmed for me that it's a niche with immense potential.
I firmly believe that in the coming years, everyone will truly begin to take an interest in Bitcoin, and businesses will want to integrate it in some way.
Now, onto the challenging part:
Firstly, I'm unsure of just how "early" we actually are, and I fear that most merchants and businesses may not yet be interested.
Secondly, I have never worked as a freelancer, and in my country, navigating bureaucracy and taxes is a nightmare.
What do you think?
Any advice from those who have gone through a similar journey would be greatly appreciated.