Will Merchants Lead the Way to Hyperbitcoinization?

Will Merchants Lead the Way to Hyperbitcoinization?

How does business behavior change in a hyperbitcoinization scenario?

Francis Pouliot, CEO and Founder of Bull Bitcoin, speculates on the scenario in a tweet back in July of 2023. It is a long thread, but worth the read.

The text outlines a scenario where Bitcoin adoption for payments is driven not by the desire to use Bitcoin as a superior technology, but out of necessity.

In summary, he believes that merchants, faced with diminishing returns from accepting inferior currencies, begin to favor Bitcoin for transactions.

Gradually, then suddenly, the refusal to accept anything other than Bitcoin will become the norm across the supply chain. He argues that economic pressures will eventually force merchants to convert their fiat currency into Bitcoin to remain competitive.

In a hyperbitcoinization scenario, where fiat currencies rapidly devalue against Bitcoin, accepting Bitcoin for payments becomes the only viable option to acquire Bitcoin. Ultimately, the refusal to accept Bitcoin will lead to elimination from the marketplace.

He concludes that, “People will adopt Bitcoin because an intolerant minority of merchants and/or their suppliers will start refusing to be paid in currencies other than Bitcoin. It is not the desire to spend Bitcoin that will drive Bitcoin adoption, it is the desire to be paid in Bitcoin that will be the catalyst. Spending Bitcoin will become a requirement, reluctantly.”

Here’s a list of forward-thinking merchants that have already begun crafting a Bitcoin standard way of doing business and are proactively incentivizing users to pay in Bitcoin.

The list is small but growing. If you know of any others we can add, please shoot us an email at newsletter@pacificbitcoin.com.

Back to blog

Share