Yesterday I read an article about a medical company to accept crypto payments including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin. This is good news no matter how you look at it as we all want crypto adoption to evolve with breakneck speed if possible.
Alongside more traditional payment methods, Todos Medical confirmed it would accept Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) from customers buying its “dietary supplement products” authorized for sale in the USA. The company confirmed that customers could pay in the specified cryptocurrencies via Coinbase Commerce. Todos Medical is based in Israel, but has an office in the USA.
Todos Medical is not the only medical company exploring the crypto landscape. This month, in the United Arab Emirates, an aesthetics clinic called Skin111 Clinic announced a partnership with the blockchain-based company Idoneus. The deal would allow Skin111 Clinic clients to pay for treatments using Idoneus’ IDON tokens. source
Looking back to see what kind of companies are accepting crypto as payment method, I can see a certain pattern here.
Tesla, Microsoft, insurance companies, travel companies, airlines, auction houses, hotels and now this company offering supplements and skin treatment. Obviously I don't have the list of all the companies accepting crypto, but based on what I know so far, it looks like rich people are targeted, so to speak.
This is not a problem, basically it doesn't matter who starts the revolution, but we have to get to the point to be able to pay our groceries with crypto.
The most obvious is Tesla and the tourism industry as these companies are offering products and services not anyone can afford. In case of travel industry, they are somewhat forced to adopt crypto after a disastrous year that forced many companies out of business. The other reason is competition. Turning away clients is not an option anymore.
An exception is Starbucks, the coffeehouse chain, which is selling mostly coffee and related products, of which value can't be compared to the other above mentioned companies.
Following an extensive trial, Starbucks customers can now use the new Bakkt app to pay for drinks and goods at the coffee chain with converted Bitcoin. According to the app’s creators, 500,000 people took up the invitation-only, early access programme to test the digital wallet as a method of payment. source
However, according to the Euronews article the coffee chain hasn't had much success with its program. I still hope they won't give up, especially now when we need all the participant we can get.
El Salvador is a different story. In the Central American country, every company, bug or small is required to accept Bitcoin. They are the world's crypto pilot program in a way and I hope multinational companies are going to make a step toward crypto adoption worldwide after testing it in El Salvador.
Back to the company I mentioned at the beginning of my post, it's surprising to see the selection of coins they are planning to accept. I mean Dogecoin (DOGE) is a bit surprising. As a marketcap, DOGE is 10th right now, you can say it's large cap now and it has network effect but still, I think it's still high risk.
As I said earlier, it looks like rich people are targeted first, but this is only my opinion and I may be wrong. But I'd like to see products and services available for crypto, for less wealthy people. I can use my Visa card to pay for groceries as we speak, but that is not the same. Let's hoe the situation will change in a couple of years. It has to.
