The last few months have seen several large companies begin accepting Bitcoin as payment. Large companies like Overstock and DISH Network cracked the door for mainstream national brands to begin considering the benefits of virtual currencies. But the recent announcement by Dell computers, one of the largest tech companies in the world, that it would begin accepting Bitcoin blew the door off of the hinges.
When DISH Network, with annual revenue of about US$11 billion, announced that they were accepting Bitcoin everyone was excited since it was the biggest company to date.
But now, Dell with its annual net revenue approaching US$57 billion, makes DISH look like a small country store. Dell’s annual revenue is possibly larger than all of the other companies that accept Bitcoin put together.
The company is also willing to spend money to promote Bitcoin as well by offering a 10% discount on any Alienware products purchased with Bitcoin. Alienware is Dell’s premier “boutique” computer division that assembles custom PC’s, mostly for high end gamers.
The announcement was made through a Coinbase blog post and indicated that it was the aim of the company to offer as many payment options as possible for their customers. The company moved quickly too, integrating Bitcoin payments into their system in just two weeks after approval. Dell CEO Paul Walsh said to Coinbase:
“It is always our goal to respond quickly to our customers and ensure their needs are met. Partnering with Coinbase to implement this solution in 14 days is a prime example of the new, more agile Dell.”
Dell is the third largest company in North America and a Fortune 500 company. Founded when Michael Dell was only 19 years old Dell was one of the youngest CEO’s ever to bring his company into that exclusive list.
Coinbase has been on a particularly powerful roll during the last few months with stunning additions to its already impressive list that includes over 35,000 merchants. Coinbase offers no fees for the first US$1 million in sales and a flat 1% fee onwards.
The news we have been hearing, about 1-800-FLOWERS, Expedia, DISH Network and now Dell are all coming from Coinbase acquisitions.
Dell, however, is the largest company to date to accept Bitcoin. Thus, if Bitcoiners were waiting for a major global company to start accepting BTC then they certainly got their wish, which can potentially spur other retailers to sign up to avoid the risk of being perceived as technological laggard. In fact, Dell is already becoming a leading voice, encouraging other businesses to get onboard. Dell recently tweeted:
“If you’re a retailer, there’s really no reason not to accept Bitcoin at this point” t.co/pWYy7NnhXH via @nytimes
— Dell (@Dell) July 18, 2014
Moreover, if the number of companies accepting Bitcoin starts to increase exponentially, business could soon find it unnecessary to immediately convert into fiat and paying a processing fee. Instead, they will choose to hold their Bitcoin, which, more importantly, could usher in actual BTC-B2B commerce since retailers such as Overstock and Tiger Direct can now technically both acquire Dell products and sell to the consumers all via Bitcoin.