Removing bitcoin from an e-commerce service isn’t a headline you normally see. Nowadays the trend is for bitcoin adoption, not non-adoption. With an unprecedented market cap and a record-high price, there has been a newfound interest from mainstream investors entering bitcoin and media reporting has become more positive than ever before. It would therefore seem that bitcoin is a speculative dream with easy gains to be made and to exit from the table now would seem like a crazy business decision. Headlines have lauded the decision for Bitcart, our discount gift card platform, to remove bitcoin as “brave” and “courageous”. However, it was one of the easiest business decisions I’ve ever made and here’s why. Bitcoin as a method of payment is dead, meet Dash.

I believe that there are two types of people in blockchain: speculators and utilitarians. The speculators views the technology’s price and makes investments. Their interest is solely to make money. The latter views the technology’s utility and their interest is for the technology to reach its potential. As blockchain (the technology) and cryptocurrency (the economics) are cut from the same cloth, it’s realistic these two camps would exist. The breakdown is when both camps compete to steer bitcoin in the direction they see fit. In-house politics and self-interest has dominated bitcoin from the early days of Bitcart and has destroyed the utility of bitcoin as a method of payment.

Themes for the next decade: Cannabis, 5G, and EVs A lot changes in 10 years, and many changes are expected by the time 2030 rolls around. Some key themes have already emerged, and we expect them to continue to impact investing decisions. At the recent Morningstar conference, several panelists joined a discussion about several major themes for the next decade, including cannabis, 5G and Read More

With a fee of $7 to make a payment, bitcoin no longer competes with other cryptocurrencies or even credit cards for the consumer. Bitcart provides a service for buying gift cards at a 15% discount. For example, anyone can purchase a $50 Amazon.com gift card and pay $42.50. However, for a customer to use this service with bitcoin, they would have to pay $49.50 with the fee and lose their discount.

Notwithstanding the increased fees, bitcoin’s ongoing transactions issues delay confirmation and settlement speeds. Recently, two orders on Bitcart took almost three weeks to process, making it impossible for our service to operate efficiently. Bitcart fulfills orders within 24 hours of a transaction and our customers have begun to expect the highest competence of our company.

Bitcoin as a Method of payment is not ideal, and why Ethereum is not either, and Dash is the best, says CEO of Bitcart

With 3-week payment turnarounds, bitcoin’s transaction speeds were shackling us from efficiently operating our business and this is simply not compatible with our business model.

Bitcart began looking at alternatives to bitcoin around 12 months ago, mostly to diversify our payments and experiment with Ethereum. However, Ethereum isn’t built for commerce; it’s more like a super computer running smart contracts than an open ledger doing calculations. In early 2017, we were more thoroughly researching payments on the blockchain and we found Dash.

Dash is the dark horse of blockchain for payments. Initially, it appeared it was just another alt-coin, but I quickly realized Dash is superior to its competitors for making payments. Its instant-send feature allows transactions to be made over the network instantly for a $0.10 fee for the consumer, around 7000% cheaper than bitcoin’s fee and many, many times faster. As a merchant, to receive payments instantly and free, without any chance of reversals or fraud, is the real-deal. While bitcoin speculators continue to dream of buying their new boat, the average person just wants a technology that works and there is currently nothing better than Dash for everyday payments.

Once we trialled Dash for a couple of months, the decision was quickly made to remove bitcoin entirely. Since then we have received support and consistent communication from the core Dash team to help integrate merchant tools onto our platform. We are also seeing record demand. With bitcoin we had to navigate the stormy sea alone. When we hit a rock, Dash threw us a lifejacket and since we mounted a faster vessel we haven’t looked back.

Article by Graham de Barra, CEO of Bitcart

