I’m in the middle of a big move, from Colorado back to my home state of California. I’m apartment hunting in San Francisco right now, so each day I’m up early, grabbing coffee and running around town to check out the places I’m interested in.
Yesterday, when I was in the Mission district, I stopped at a coffee shop that had a handwritten sign in the window: they accepted crypto. I was excited, but I knew sending Bitcoin was slow and Ethereum fees are high, so I decided to just transfer a small amount of Matic. The guy at the register showed me how to do it—scan a QR code and send. It only took a couple of minutes, and by the time my drink was ready, the payment had arrived.
The owner of the shop hadn’t set up a reader to accept crypto, so I’m guessing this was his way of accumulating a little bit, avoiding credit card fees, or maybe for tax reasons. I’m all for it, one crypto enthusiast to another, and I’m glad I was able to support his business.
We’re still a long way from smooth, widespread crypto adoption, but it’s a start. If you see a business that accepts crypto, work with the owner and see if you can make it work. For me, it’s the only way I’m spending my money.