These retailers in Canada are accepting cryptocurrency as payment

Highlights

• Bitcoin price is not stable, which means users must exercise caution while using it in payments
• The Wikimedia Foundation has recently stopped the BitPay-backed crypto donation option
• A few retailers may be accepting cryptos in Canada, but there is no certainty about the future

Bitcoin has soared in popularity regardless of the risks that come with investing in cryptoassets. As of writing, BTC had declined over 18 per cent since the start of this year, but its 24-hour trading volume was over US$28 billion.

Recently, Central African Republic became the second country to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. In El Salvador, it was done last year, although the move was not appreciated by many including the IMF. On the other hand, the Wikimedia Foundation has reportedly decided to not allow donations in cryptocurrencies. The foundation is behind Wikipedia, a widely popular online encyclopedia.

Wikipedia and cryptos

It is said that the Wikimedia Foundation had been accepting donations in cryptoassets since almost eight years. Many of the foundation’s community members, however, are not in support of crypto donations. This is claimed to be the reason behind the move.

Reportedly, the foundation does not raise significant donation in cryptos. The share of cryptos was less than one per cent in the aggregate revenue last year. Wikimedia Foundation used the services of BitPay to enable crypto transactions by donors.

Also read: What is Fidelity’s Bitcoin 401(k) offering? What to keep in mind?

Two retailers accepting crypto

1. Newegg

Newegg is one of the popular online retailers for computer products and other electronics in Canada.

A page on the website of Newegg is dedicated to payments in Bitcoin, the biggest asset in the crypto verse. It says that users can pay in Bitcoin after selecting the crypto as the option in payment methods. The payment is deducted from the wallet, or the user can also scan the QR code using a smartphone.

Newegg also uses the services of BitPay, and it is indicated on the website that returns of items bought using the crypto option would be allowed in the form of gift card, with no refund in the crypto wallet.

Also read: What's in Canada Budget 2022 for cryptocurrency enthusiasts?

2. HGregoire

HGreg also accepts payments in Bitcoin from its buyers of new or used vehicles. A press release on the official website, dating back to March 2021, states that 30 stores in the US and Canada accept cryptos.

HGreg has cited that since it is at the “forefront” of technology, adding Bitcoin as one of the payment options was a measure to add to shopping experience. HGreg is said to be expanding further in the US and Canada by setting up new superstores.

Bitcoin price

BTC has yet to perform well this year, and its price was below US$40,000 at the time of writing. Last year in November, the price peaked to nearly US$67,500. Other cryptoassets like ETH and DOGE have also declined in price terms in 2022.

Also read: Explained: How many types of cryptos are there?

Data provided by CoinMarketCap.com

Bottom line

Similar to how the Wikimedia Foundation has terminated Bitcoin acceptance, any entity may decide to take such a step. The two retailers mentioned above have mentioned on their websites about BTC mode of payment. There could be more such retailers in Canada that accept crypto. In the future, it is possible that more retailers warm up to this asset class, or maybe, the ones accepting them may stop providing this option.

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