With some of the biggest names in the business turning to cryptocurrencies, it’s becoming harder to ignore just how influential and impactful these could be on the eCommerce industry – and likely sooner than you’d think.

Although relatively immature, cryptocurrency is making huge shakes in the retail sector, and certainly looks like it’s here to stay. Some of the largest multinational enterprises have already dipped into this new digital playing field and many others are following suit. Just last week, Tesla announced that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin to hold on its balance sheet, and is planning to allow its customers to use this coin to pay for cars. But it doesn’t end there. In the same week, Mastercard disclosed its plans to let merchants accept some forms of cryptocurrencies through its network later on this year, which will convert traditional money to digital currency before entering the companies’ systems. Other leading enterprises making the move to embrace cryptocurrency include Square, who already give users of its Cash App access to buy Bitcoin, and Fuse.io, who recently partnered with Monerium to create a platform for entrepreneurs to turn “communities into economies” via a blockchain.

What is cryptocurrency?

In short, cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency that’s independent from banks and governments. Instead of being regulated by a central control, cryptocurrency uses encryption techniques to control its use and administer its release. Transactions are verified by a decentralized system and then distributed on a blockchain (a digital public ledger) as a public account of records. This prevents the user from spending the coin multiple times, acting as a check and balance to regulate use.

Cryptocurrency can be bought through a broker, traded online, transferred between peers using ‘cryptocurrency wallets’ or mined, all of which is typically recorded on a blockchain. Although Bitcoin (BTC) is the most well-known cryptocurrency, there are many other types of digital currencies available under the name of ‘Altcoins’, a blanket term used for all Bitcoin alternatives. These include Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Neo (NEO) and thousands of others that have emerged since 2018. Some Altcoins use a peer-to-peer exchange system like Bitcoin, while others use unique mechanics that can offer different levels of protection and privacy. For example, some coins don’t use a blockchain at all, offering fully private transactions, while some offer pseudo-anonymous transactions in the form of encrypted data. 

The term ‘cryptocurrency’ was coined as a neologism made up of the root word ‘crypto’, meaning ‘secret’, and ‘currency’, the system of money for a specific region or country. This stands as both its name and definition in one, representing a hidden – or secret – system of money.

The benefits of using cryptocurrency in eCommerce

Both centred around tech, it would be fair to assume that cryptocurrency and eCommerce have the potential to complement each other quite nicely – and, in a few cases, they already are. Cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, are already infiltrating the eCommerce industry, offering an innovative, viable and streamlined digital solution for many existing blockers. With the ability to appease consumer demand for immediacy and security, while expanding market share for retailers, cryptocurrencies could prove extremely beneficial for the eCommerce industry if adopted efficiently. More and more companies have grown to understand these benefits, leading to a surge in consumer attention, and it may not be long before we start to see the commercial use of cryptocurrency as standard.