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Bitcoin is taking the financial world by storm as it surges in value and popularity – and now it can be used to pay for car repairs and marketing services in the Nottingham area.

Car service garage Lindleys Autocentres and digital marketing agency Imaginaire Digital are now accepting the virtual currency – also known as a cryptocurrency – which is traded electronically without a central authority controlling its value.

Created in 2009, Bitcoin is designed to be secure, cheap to exchange and anonymous, and has boomed in price to almost £10,000 as of this morning (Monday, January 15).

But until recently, it has not been recognised on the high street or by many businesses.

That could soon change as Lindleys, which has five branches in the city, has begun accepting cryptocurrency payments – also including other digital currencies such as Etherum and Litecoin, and eventually Ripple and RaiBlocks – at its Carlton garage and plans to roll it out across all its branches and services.

Director Alex Lindley said: “Cryptocurrency has been gaining traction in the news recently and offers many benefits over standard forms of payment.

“We are taking a risk accepting cryptocurrency as the market is so volatile but we believe the technology will be widely adopted in the years to come and would love to be part of the driving force behind the change.

“We want to offer any like-minded customers the opportunity to spend their cryptocurrency.”

Imaginaire, based at Pear Tree Yard, a former 18th century mill in Sandiacre, has started accepting Bitcoin and Litecoin following an increased demand from customers in the technology sector.

Managing director Seb Dean said: “A lot of our customers are dotted around the world and moving currency via the traditional routes can be costly to both sides. The main benefit of cryptocurrency is that it removes those barriers for us.”

Despite the cost benefit, the cryptocurrency world has dominated news headlines worldwide for its volatility.

Bitcoin, for example, dropped in value by 22 percent in between December 17 and December 21 last year after growing to its all-time high a week earlier – but it grew by 900 percent overall in 2017.

Mr Dean conceded this was an issue but one that will become less so over time.

“The price can fluctuate massively, but we expect this to slow down as the currencies hit maturity,” he said.

“To protect ourselves, we usually exchange to GBP as soon as a customer pays, which protects us from the fluctuations.

“We do however, invest some of our profits into cryptocurrency thanks to their abnormally high returns.”

Although some have argued that cryptocurrency isn’t quite ready for use within businesses because of its volatile nature, Mr Dean argued that innovation is at the heart of business and that the global market is demanding it.

He added: “I think when you work with very innovative companies, they expect you to be innovative too and that’s a big part of this decision.

“More and more local companies are also starting to ask about integrating crypto payments for their e-commerce websites and this is an integration we’ve built.

“I think it’s great that these companies are looking to stay at the cutting edge of technology and that matches the ethos held by a lot of Nottingham businesses.”