5 Companies You May Not Know Accept Crypto Payments

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crypto - 5 Companies You May Not Know Accept Crypto Payments

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Last year, we saw an amazing bull run for Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) that rivaled the highs of 2017. However, much to the surprise of several analysts, the streak shows no signs of snapping. Earlier in February, bitcoin’s market value surpassed $1 trillion. Although the ebbs and flows will continue for the foreseeable future, the writing is on the wall. Crypto is here to stay.

Several companies are sensitive to this new trend and are now accepting crypto as payment. Some of the names are not large corporations, while some are large players on the major exchanges. Hence, you will find a nice mix of names on this list.

  • AT&T (NYSE:T)
  • Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)
  • Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
  • Shopify (NYSE:SHOP)
  • Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)

Companies You May Not Know Accept Crypto: AT&T (T)

Value Stocks to Buy for 2020: AT&T (T)
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AT&T was the first major mobile carrier to accept crypto payments through BitPay. Although the company does not accept direct payments, it’s still one of the rare carriers accepting Bitcoin through a third-party service provider. If you decide to go the BitPay route, you have the option to pay with either Bitcoin, fiat currency, or a combination of the two.

Before I move onto the next entry on this list, I would want to make a point of T stock being an excellent investment. I recently wrote about it and expressed my dismay at the company not getting as much attention as it deserves, especially considering the positive headlines that HBO Max is generating.

You can add a juicy yield of 7.08% and excellent operating performance, and one struggles to understand why the stock is trading at a massive discount to its 52-week high.

Regardless, it’s an excellent defensive play that you should get your hands on.

Starbucks (SBUX)

the Starbucks (SBUX) logo on a sign outside of a coffee shop
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Initially, Starbucks had announced that it would accept Bitcoin payments directly in stores in 2019. However, the coffeehouse giant later explained that it would be partnering with Bakkt, a crypto futures trading exchange, on the payments from mid-2020 when the latter’s app would be launched. Regardless, now that the app is launched, you can go ahead and purchase a latte through bitcoin.

As we will get to later on in this list, several companies like Starbucks have allowed customers to pay for their products through crypto.

Microsoft (MSFT)

The Microsoft (MSFT) logo on a corporate office building during the day time.
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Bill Gates’ billion-dollar software giant has had a tenuous relationship with crypto. However, the company seems content to accept Bitcoin as payment for online games and apps on its Windows and Xbox online stores. It started accepting payment way back in December 2014. However, within a couple of weeks, the company went back on the decision and quickly reversed it. Much the same happened in 2016.

On both occasions, the digital currency’s volatility led to the company going back on its decision. Considering its track record, it would not be surprising if you thought another ban was around the corner. However, with the digital currency gaining greater institutional support, I don’t expect Microsoft to backtrack on the decision anytime soon.

Shopify (SHOP)

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Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce platform for online stores. You can go ahead and set up your own shop on a platform like eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), for example. Its relationship with crypto goes back several years. It accepts more than 300 other cryptocurrencies to settle payments on the platform. The company recently expanded its partnership with CoinPayments, another online merchant services provider.

More than 600,000 businesses are active on the platform. It’s a major coup for CoinPayments and expands Shopify’s reach. Since 2013, CoinPayments has processed over $10 billion in crypto payments and has served more than 60,000 merchants worldwide.

For several companies on this list, accepting crypto is a unique phenomenon. However, that is not the case with Shopify, which has remained steadfast with the company.

Yum! Brands (YUM)

crypto
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Yum! Brands is a fast-food corporation that operates several prominent brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, and WingStreet.

Pizza Hut became the latest fast-food chain to accept crypto payments last year. In November 2020, it was reported that the company allowed locations within Venezuela to accept bitcoin as payment for pizza due to economic sanctions that led to crypto payments gaining an immense amount of interest within a short period of time.

This is not the first time that a fast-food chain has allowed crypto payments in the country. Earlier, Burger King allowed its locations in the country to accept payments in the form of bitcoin. However, the unique situation of Venezuela is forcing the hand of several companies, but it could provide the template for larger acceptance in other territories.

On the date of publication, Faizan Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. 

Faizan Farooque is a contributing author for InvestorPlace.com and numerous other financial sites. Faizan has several years of experience analyzing the stock market and was a former data journalist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. His passion is to help the average investor make more informed decisions regarding their portfolio.

Faizan Farooque is a contributing author for InvestorPlace.com and numerous other financial sites. Faizan has several years of experience in analyzing the stock market and was a former data journalist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. His passion is to help the average investor make more informed decisions regarding their portfolio.


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