In its slow-but-steady crawl towards mass adoption, Bitcoin (BTC) will now be accepted at American wholesaler H&M Distributors.
Not to be confused with the Swedish multinational clothing-retail company Hennes & Mauritz AB, H&M Distributors instead deals in cost-effective lighting — specifically, replacement ballasts, lamp holders, and accessories for lamp holders.
Though this may not be the most glorious or exciting announcement in Bitcoin’s history of acceptance as a means of payment, it nevertheless is another brick laid on the road to mainstream adoption.
H&M Distributors will use the cryptocurrency e-commerce platform Chimpion to facilitate purchases with the market-leading cryptocurrency.
However, Bitcoin isn’t the only digital asset accepted by the company. Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dash (DASH), Bitcoin Diamond (BCD), and others are also accepted. (Though, it’s legitimately difficult to imagine anyone purchasing replacement ballasts with Bitcoin Diamond.)
‘What Sold Us Was The Settlement System’
The decision to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies comes after the company realized that the nascent asset class breaks down financial barriers (by removing the need for banks) and allows it to sell its products to a wider international market.
H&M Distributors founder and CEO Herb Needham stated in a press release:
After more than 20 years in the business, we consider ourselves experts in specialty lighting. Accepting cryptocurrency payments allows us to share that expertise with even more clients by removing many of the barriers that made it difficult to sell internationally before. What sold us was the settlement system, which allows us to convert crypto payments to a USD equivalent right away.
The press release also claims that the acceptance of cryptocurrencies allows the company to “pass on even more savings to [its] customers” by way of “drastically reduced transaction fees […] and freedom from chargebacks.”
What do you think of H&M Distributors’ decision to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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