There are now more and more companies that are offering Bitcoin as an option for digital payments. AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron recently revealed in a tweet that Bitcoin will officially be one of the payment methods on the platform.
However, not everyone is convinced, with Slow Ventures’ Jill Gunter being one of them. In a recent interview with CNBC, she stated,
“Bitcoin is not actually I think, that well suited today at least, going out and buying popcorn with it.”
According to the exec, there are “other cryptocurrencies that are better suited for that.” J.C. Flowers’ Chris Flowers also seems to hold the view that Bitcoin, as a payment currency, is “too slow and too expensive”. He was recently quoted as saying,
“Bitcoin is really laughable as a serious alternative payment method.”
Just last week, Bitcoin was hovering around its record high of $69,000 on the back of high inflation numbers. In the past as well, JP Morgan has associated Bitcoin’s price rally with the resurgence of inflation fears. Curiously, Flowers is not buying that theory to invest in Bitcoin.
Nevertheless, there is also chatter that tech giant Apple might not shy away from accepting these digital payment methods in the future. Especially in light of CEO Tim Cook’s positive outlook on digital assets as part of a “diversified portfolio.”
Now, that raises the question of whether the e-commerce platform Amazon is willing to be the be next in line? Recently, La Haus, a Bezos-backed real estate app, opened its doors to Bitcoin. It is clear now that more services want to include what is becoming a very popular medium of exchange.
Naturally, not everybody agrees with the idea. According to Economist Peter Schiff, for instance, “if Bitcoin doesn’t die of natural causes, gold will eventually kill it.”
His views are contrary to many who believe that Bitcoin is a better hedge than gold for modern-day price hikes. Including that of MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor who opined that Bitcoin is, in fact, “killing gold.”
On the question of payments, what is placed against Bitcoin?
Citadel’s billionaire CEO Ken Griffin predicted in a summit last week that “Ethereum-based conception in the next generation of cryptocurrencies will replace the ones based on Bitcoin.” Why? Well, simply because of “higher transaction speeds, lower cost per transaction.” He noted,
“Bitcoin is incredibly expensive to manage payments on…”
Not to forget the volatility that comes with the asset class. But, El Salvador remains on the other side of the spectrum with President Bukele adding more Bitcoin to the state’s coffers. Zimbabwe is also mulling accepting the king coin as a legal tender.
To conclude, it’s worth noting that Gunter holds the view that Bitcoin’s bull run will continue “at least for the short to medium term.” At press time, Bitcoin was trading close to $65,800. According to AMBCrypto’s analysis, on-chain metrics also seemed to point towards a strong market.
