It is no more news that bitcoin has gained momentum in the financial market, a situation that has compelled (and keep compelling) A-list companies to get involved in the trend or lose out completely. But in all of this, value is a fundamental point to note while talking about the relevance of bitcoin price, and the users are the primary proponents for giving value.
What brought about the massive acceptance of bitcoin among global players is the fear of losing their customers; people were too fast in getting used to the system – it will be risky to let your competitors take the first step in the adaptation of the new methods.
Though there have been problems emanating from the wide spread of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, this has not affected user’s enthusiasm, neither has it changed the way big companies view it. The point is that the advantages of bitcoin over the traditional method of financial transactions supersedes whatever discouragement governments are dishing out to users.
Nevertheless, these harsh government policies greatly affect the price of this coin on a negative note, as more of its adaptation (especially by bid organizations) also affect it positively. Below, we have listed some of the big companies that have embraced bitcoin as their payment method, and how the actions of each of them affected the price of this coin.
1. Microsoft
Microsoft was one of the early bitcoin birds who saw the future of this emerging market. With a customer base of over 1.2 billion, Microsoft started accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in 2014. They’d designed their platform in such a way that users can pay for games, apps, and many other digital products on the platform. It also extends to other Microsoft-owned companies like Xbox and Windows mobile phones.
The year 2014 wasn’t the best year for bitcoin as it was still struggling with scandals and drama, especially with some of its exchangers that faced bankruptcy at that time, e.g. Mt. Gox. The price of BTC was hovering around $340 as of then, but swung to $530 after Microsoft introduced it as their payment option.
2. PayPal
PayPal was among the few companies that were brave enough to adapt the use of Bitcoin as a payment method back in 2014. It looked like PayPal was trailing Microsoft, this is because the company made their move 3 months after Microsoft’s decision. This was believed to be the major reason for the price surge during this period, thus, increasing the value of bitcoin price by almost 90%.
It will be convenient to say that the move by this company was one of the reasons the use of Bitcoin went popular among small businesses – they focused more on businesses rather than independent consumers, and this paid off. Their decision also gained prominence in a very short time because of the much lower transaction fee on Bitcoin, compared to the 2%-3% transaction fee businesses are charged on credit card transactions.
3. Overstock
This company was on the trail of adopting bitcoin immediately after bitcoin and PayPal went crypto. But it seemed they (Overstock) were a bit conservative with their operations, so not too many people knew the exact date they adapted the bitcoin payment system. But according to a CNN report, it looks like the company went fully crypto between 2014 and 2015.
This is because, in 2018, the news agency had called them a “bitcoin veteran”. It was also speculated that the company was among the many underground bitcoin adaptors who got fully integrated with the system before it’s widespread in 2018.
4. Whole Foods
This is the later bitcoin adaptors, this company and its counterparts were among the reason for the continuous increase in the value of bitcoin in 2019. This company was not alone in this, they collaborated with Gemini owned by Winklevoss (which is also owned by Facebook) to achieve this feat.
The involvement of Whole Foods and dozens of other companies was the reason the price of bitcoin rose to $9,565 around the October period. And by the way, Whole Foods is owned by Amazon.
5. Etsy
Well, this company does not accept bitcoin payment directly, but the bitcoin independent sellers who dominate the platform do accept crypto payments in their different individual shops.
Though the event wasn’t significant, it represents millions of personal businesses that contributed to the growth of bitcoin value in late 2019.
Conclusion
It is important to note that the above five listed companies are not the only company that contributed to the increase in the value of bitcoin since its inception. The ones we listed are just the most significant players, as many others played a role as well. But in all of this, cryptocurrency is fast changing the finance industry as we know it, and bitcoin is at the forefront of the evolution.