Walmart And McDonald’s Might Soon Accept Bitcoin
Fast forward a couple months into the future and McDonald’s, Walmart and some of the other top corporations in the United States and beyond might accept bitcoin through the Lightning Network. The announcement was made by Strike’s Jack Mallers. If the prediction come true, bitcoin will be accepted at nearly half a million stores in the United States along with all Shopify sites throughout the country.
Details On Mallers’ Announcement
Mallers, the creator of Zap, is poised to democratize bitcoin for the masses with the use of the Lightning Network wallet. Mallers’ Strike company recently teamed up with Blackhawk Network, NCR and Shopify to facilitate payment through bitcoin. Mallers states that websites that rely on Shopify for web-based card transactions will soon be able to process payments through bitcoin by way of the Lightning Network. In fact, the partnership is live at the moment, setting the stage toward the countrywide and possibly worldwide use of bitcoin as a form of currency.
Every single merchant that accepts payments through Shopify will be able to sell products in exchange for bitcoin, receiving instantaneous payment. Mallers made the announcement in a heralded presentation, pointing out how some of the country’s top retailers including the likes of Walmart, McDonald’s, Best Buy and Home Depot are on board with the plan to expand avenues of payment.
Cryptocurrency investors looking to capitalize on the coming ubiquity of bitcoin will find it interesting to note that Strike’s partners in NCR and Blackhawk serve the likes of Woolworths, Staples, El Corte Ingles, Chipotle, Lowe’s and Starbucks along with thousands of other retailers across the world. Perhaps the most interesting component of Mallers’ plan is that retailers will be able to instantaneously convert bitcoin into cryptocurrency without delay or impediment.
When Will Bitcoin Be Accepted At Big Box Stores?
At the current moment, the timetable for the acceptance of bitcoin at the stores and restaurants referenced above is unknown. Mallers will likely provide additional details about the use of the popular cryptocurrency at those retailers in the weeks ahead.
What matters most is that the Lightning Network will catalyze the ubiquity of bitcoin. This network has been implemented by the likes of Bitpay, Kraken and Robinhood in recent weeks. The network is a multi-layer solution for the blockchain that underlies bitcoin, centering on the use of smart contracts to coordinate instantaneous payments without excessive fees.
The Lightning Network promotes the use of bitcoin as a form of digital currency rather than strictly zeroing in on its functionality as a digital form of gold. Some investors are adamant bitcoin will serve as a safe haven amidst seemingly runaway inflation with no end in sight.
The Lightning Network will permit bitcoin’s scaling that will ultimately help it gain market share from fiat currencies. The use of the network will settle payments with zero-to-no fees. In other words, bitcoin is becoming that much closer to being used as a daily payment solution.
Jack Dorsey Gives His Blessing
It is also worth noting that Jack Dorsey, the head of Block, formerly known as Square, has publicly come out in support of Maller’s push for bitcoin to be used at businesses across the land. Both Mallers and Dorsey have espoused the merits of bitcoin and the overarching theme of disrupting the norm of the mainstream financial system through decentralized finance.
