Bitcoin adoption is seemingly on the rise in the Philippines, with wallet service Pouch managing to convince 400 businesses to accept the popular cryptocurrency. However, the journey of convincing merchants and users to adopt Bitcoin has not come without challenges. In a recent interview with the founder of Pouch, Ethan Rose, he explained that although merchants have not entirely embraced the idea of Bitcoin, the offer to attract new customers has been a driving factor in growing adoption.
According to Rose, Pouch has managed to onboard about 250 businesses on the island of Boracay and another 150 throughout the Philippines. Boracay is a popular tourist hotspot, and the Pouch team is leveraging this to promote Bitcoin adoption by offering an alternative payment method to attract customers.
However, introducing Bitcoin to users does present difficulties. Rose mentions that convincing someone to shift their mental model of money and embrace Bitcoin as the best option may present them as gullible. As more businesses start to accept Bitcoin, there is also a risk that they might not experience any sales from it. Rose emphasizes the need for more Bitcoin spenders in the Philippines, as merchants might end up abandoning the endeavor if no customers use the cryptocurrency for transactions.
The situation in the Philippines illustrates the push and pull of cryptocurrency adoption, where businesses see potential benefits in accepting alternative payment methods while facing the challenge of getting customers to embrace the change. As adoption continues to grow, businesses need to have good experiences with accepting and using Bitcoin for it to truly take root and become a widespread method of payment.
Therefore, the critical question remains: will the adoption of Bitcoin spread to more corners of the Philippines and beyond, or will it hit a roadblock where the majority of users are unwilling to adopt this new form of currency? Only time will tell, but the efforts of companies like Pouch and the growth of adoption in the Philippines are undoubtedly pushing it in the right direction.
Source: Cointelegraph
