BRECKSVILLE, Ohio (WJW) – “Pay me in Bitcoin” is a phrase popularized by professional athletes, but the use of cryptocurrencies in day-to-day transactions is not common in most businesses in the area.
However, a local business owner is confident of being at the forefront.
The Juice Lab, which is open for just one year in Brecksville, is among the few locally owned businesses that accept cryptocurrency payments.
“Anything we can do, even if it’s something very early in the general acceptance stages, I’m still going to save money now, that’s all I want to do,” said owner Dom DiGeronimo.
Cryptocurrency is not yet a popular form of payment at the Juice Lab, but DiGeronimo said he believes it will be over time and said he wants to be on the cutting edge.
“Trying to be in the forefront of the coming wave,” DiGeronimo said.
So how does it work? Juice Lab uses the BlueWallet application that allows users to store, send and receive cryptocurrencies. Customers scan a QR code on their phone to make payments at the cash register.
A client-turned-crypto consultant for Juice Lab, Monty Wesoloski, helped DiGeronimo set up the new form of payment for the business.
“That’s as easy as it is as long as you can scan a QR code and hit submit, you can download the app and get started,” said Monty Wesoloski, founder of Monty Bitcoin. “It just offers a digital way to carry cash.”
DiGeronimo said that paying in cryptocurrency instead of credit helps lower the fees the company takes on.
“There’s a 3.29 percent fee on a credit card every time you swipe it and there’s also a 10 or 15 percent charge you get for every transaction you make … in a $ 10 shake those pennies add up later. a long time ago, “DiGeronimo said.
Many clients do not invest in cryptocurrencies, and for some, getting started can be confusing and depending on how much they plan to invest, it is expensive.
“Bitcoin has risen in value for sure, but you only need $ 10 worth of Bitcoin to be able to spend $ 10,” Wesoloski said. “So you don’t necessarily have to buy a full Bitcoin that is worth roughly $ 50,000 today to be able to use it. You can use fractions “.
In the same way that healthy eating became more valued over time, making deals like the organic products offered at the Juice Lab possible, DiGeronimo said he hopes cryptocurrency payments will catch on soon as well.
“It definitely cuts the cost,” DiGeronimo said. “Cutting costs is like breathing in something that you should be doing all the time.”
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