Tectonic shifts in the way things work sometimes take time to come to full fruition, and though crypto has been with us for 15 years now in some form or another, the adoption in businesses and certain industries has taken some time while other industries have sped ahead and noticed the benefits for consumers.
The number of crypto users in the UK has also grown over the years and this is another reason why some businesses may be looking to include it as one of the options for payments.
Industries that Lead The Way
Some industries quickly latched on. Early adopters in the fields of gambling and cryptocurrencies provided people with options to play games or bet on sports using their cryptocurrencies, and with simple ways to transfer money by the blockchain plenty of users started to use this method.
The gambling industry has been big in the UK for a long time and since the advent of the internet, it has been through quite a few different changes. Sportsbook gambling in the UK is popular as the country is home to some huge competitions – the UK is known to be a hub for football and the place where the biggest sport in the world was invented, so innovation is not something that should come as a surprise. Different payment methods mean bettors who choose to use Thunderpick may see multiple markets on both traditional sports like football and some of the more modern options like esports.
Crypto makes a lot of sense for the gambling industry. It makes transfers a lot more straightforward and quicker for some players and also has the potential to reduce fees that are sometimes associated with payment methods.
Without getting too technical, blockchain is what makes this technology “decentralized” and means there isn’t one specific company that is managing the payment and potentially holding things up. Security comes from anonymity and the fact that the blockchain is a P2P network, not a central one.
A lot of industries besides gambling that are currently accepting cryptocurrencies as payments are high-tech industries. Some founders at top businesses are predicting continued growth in this as a payment method across the UK and the world. Web 3.0’s adoption is breaking through in many ways. Web hosting is another industry where companies have started to accept different payment methods including cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Payment Processors
Payment processing is a complex industry and there are loads of different companies that can potentially help businesses.
Overclockers UK is one of the businesses accepting cryptocurrencies through using a payment processor. BitPay allows businesses to accept crypto even if they want to get paid in another currency. They act as a service to make this transfer and conversion to give convenience to both the customer and the retailer.
What this payment processing means is that there are a lot of companies that can make the choice to take payments in this way even if they haven’t fully adopted Bitcoin. It reduces the commitment (and the effort) that it takes to start giving your customers this extra choice.
Customers are used to having multiple payment methods now and smart payments. Digital wallet use in the UK has rocketed to popularity. 1 in 5 people are now thought to use some sort of digital payment method and we see this anecdotally in daily life. Perhaps you’re one of the people already using something like Apple pay, simply waving your phone or even watch to complete a payment.
The Impact of Blockchain
London, often hailed as a tech hub, is teeming with startups that are embracing blockchain technology and exploring what crypto can do beyond being just a digital currency. Blockchain itself is revolutionary for some industries and people know the potential. Investments in big UK-based blockchain companies are growing. These companies are looking into things like smart contracts and decentralized applications, and they’re getting creative with it. The result? A flurry of innovation that’s turning heads not just locally, but globally.
Accelerators and incubators focused on blockchain are becoming more common in the UK, providing mentorship, funding, and networking opportunities for startups in the space.
Stats back up the growth in this industry and Crunchbase shows that there are over 1,000 different companies in the area that class themselves as blockchain startups – all of these companies may have a role to play in making the UK an option for blockchain entrepreneurs and developers looking to make their mark and ultimately make crypto the default for some users.
Conclusion
Nobody knows for sure but the signs are clear that crypto is becoming a bigger part of the financial landscape in the UK. With increasing adoption among consumers and businesses, and a thriving ecosystem of startups and innovators. Digital currencies are here to stay and crypto is likely to be part of the equation as companies introduce more payment options.