As you enter your favorite shop in Luxembourg, you notice that, in addition to the usual, historic payment means (cash, debit and credit cards) and perhaps newer ones such as Satispay, you are also told that you can choose to pay in Bitcoin (BTC) or in another crypto currency called HBD.
By now, you have certainly heard about Bitcoin. You might even own some, as an investment, but until now, despite its original name of "cryptocurrency", the opportunities to check its suitability as a "medium of exchange" were rare.
You are also excused if you never heard about this other cryptocurrency, "HBD". Its underlying technology is more modern and better suited to payments, but it's not well known.
Let's be very clear: at this point in time nothing can rival the ease of use of Apple Pay / Google Pay. The seller enters an amount in his payment terminaland you open your Apple / Google wallet and select the registered card you want to use. You then just need to approach the phone briefly to the terminal and the payment is done.
So why would you want to try paying with BTC or HBD?
There are several reasons that are detailed in this post
But in a nutshell, your number one reason should be curiosity, and willingness to discover and learn something new.
Cryptocurrencies are here to stay.
There is a new European legislation ("MiCA") that has taken effect on Dec. 30th, 2024 and that regulates their use. They will continue to evolve and permeate more and more domains. Yet they are still young and not as user-friendly as payment methods that have been around for much longer.
There are other reasons to try them out:
- Cryptocurrency payments are direct, from customer-to-seller without Apple (or Google), VISA (or Mastercard),and the banks each taking a cut in the process.
- They increase the resilience of the payment systems, offer participants more freedom, and decrease the overall costs.
- There are also cashback offers that you'll learn more about from this post. If that post seems too long, focus on the fact that, anyway, ...
First, you need a wallet
We recommend "Wallet of Satoshi" for Bitcoin and "Hive Keychain" for HBD
We stand ready to:
- explain everything you might need or want to know
- help you charge your wallet with BTC and/or HBD
You can write to us directly by emailing "info at offchain.lu"
Or by using the contact form on our website, https://offchain.lu