Lots of legitimate marijuana ventures are constantly been compelled to use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to carry out routine transactions. These businesses have no choice other than to resort to cryptocurrency because a lot of traditional financial institutions are not interested in working with them. In fact, lack of financial backup from regular banks is one of the biggest challenges of the cannabis industry. According to estimates from the industry, as at 2016, the legal marijuana industry had about $6 billion which is projected to become $50 billion by 2026, and it will include the sale of CBD oils and related items.
However, because cannabis is not legal under federal laws, a lot of banks as well as credit card processing institutions are not interested in any part of this business. This leaves merchants no choice than to resort to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which is the most well known of the biggest cryptocurrencies. Or these businesses take the risk of carrying around large amounts of cash. Because of this, cannabis merchants are forced to only accept cash, which poses a lot of security threat and makes logistics very cumbersome. This situation does not only affect recreational marijuana, it also affects companies involved in the sale of non-psychoactive substances like cannabidiol that often experience problems when they try to acquire credit card merchant accounts.
At present, SinglePoint Inc. and POSaBIT are two upcoming financial-tech companies that use Bitcoin to assist consumers and businesses alike to utilize credit cards for the purchase and sale of cannabis or even the best CBD oil brands. According to a director at the CBD review website known as CBDReVu.com, Charles Franklin, “It’s almost impossible to operate a business in todays’ worlds on a cash only basis but the demand for cannabis related products is so strong that businesses and consumers are willing to endure the aggravation and risk”.
One of the stores in Washington that use POSaBIT, Trove Cannabis, sold about $3 million worth of marijuana the previous year in cash, and rakes an astounding 3,000 transactions every week. Trove Cannabis began to use the POSaBIT system in February, but they spent 6 months on a waiting list before they could join the system. This is how the system works; a customer arrives at the dispensary with the aim of making a purchase. The customer is asked by the store clerk if they will like to pay in cash or use Bitcoin. If the buyer decides to go with Bitcoin, they’ll add a $2 transaction fee to the transaction. But the entire procedure is rather cumbersome. The customer must first buy Bitcoin with their credit card. This is done via a POSaBIT kiosk, which is where the $2 transaction fee is paid. At this point the customer has Bitcoin that is the exact value of the transaction, which he/she can then offer in exchange for the product they want to buy. As soon as the transaction is completed at the store, POSaBIT, which collects the $2 transaction fee, will send the correct dollar value to the bank account of the retailer. Go here https://www.yahoo.com/news/usa-made-organic-cbd-oil-190200930.html
Some people love doing transactions with Bitcoin, but it has a lot of disadvantages, and chief amongst them is the instability of Bitcoin value. Though you buy and sell Bitcoin like any other commodity, currency or stock, the value however, always fluctuates. Spectators now trade Bitcoin the same way currencies are traded by currency traders, and just like other commodities, traders would always trade pork bellies. And there’s always the probability of Bitcoin becoming a facilitator of illegal money transactions across the world, seeing as this currency seems primed for such illicit activities around the dark web. A lot of observers are of the opinion that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, are just a regulatory accident away. However, for now, a lot of cannabis businesses, are stuck with these forms of alternative payment methods.