Dell becomes the largest ecommerce merchant to accept Bitcoin
In what could be the biggest splash in Bitcoin history to date, computer legend Dell just announced that the company will accept bitcoins. To do this, Dell has integrated with Coinbase and the entire process took 14 days from inception to launch.
Coinbase claims on its announcement blog that Dell is the largest ecommerce company to officially accept bitcoin, at nearly $60 billion in annual sales.
The entire process has customers head from their cart during checkout to Coinbase during the “VERIFY & SUBMIT ORDER” phase similar to using PayPal or other payment processor. From there, payment can be made by way of Coinbase account or phone app that can scan a QR code. After verification occurs, customers are redirected back to the Dell website for order completion.
Customers can use bitcoin to purchase any produces on Dell’s consumer, EPP or small/medium business sites in the U.S. Right now, bitcoins are only accepted online, but not for existing invoices.
Dell has also launched a FAQ explaining the nature of bitcoins and how to use them to buy from the company. Including why the company has chosen to go with the virtual currency.
“Bitcoin is a new payment option intended to offer even more flexibility for customers,” the FAQ writes about why Dell is accepting bitcoins. “Bitcoin payments can be made easily from anywhere in the world, and offer reduced payment processing costs.”
Dell has a philosophy of solving hard problems with technology
Dell is now the world's largest ecommerce business to accept #bitcoin http://t.co/xC41rKTYXi http://t.co/0YqPK7MfVG
— Michael Dell (@MichaelDell) July 18, 2014
Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell, sees a future for the company in solving hard problems with technology. In an interview with John Furrier and Dave Vellante in SiliconANGLE’s TheCUBE, he spoke to how the underlying philosophy of Dell continues to evolve.
“When I look at the big opportunities that exist in the world,” Michael Dell says, “the big unsolved problems, whether it’s in medicine, education, energy, or the environment, I think these are all problems that technology will solve.”
By accepting Bitcoin, Dell is continuing this philosophical practice in a practical sense. Economy and opportunity represent problems that now have solutions that can be addressed with technology (Bitcoin) and not just politics.
Image credit: Bitcoin Payment Snapshot from Dell’s blog.
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