A Baptist church in the state of Mississippi has become the latest venture to accept donations in cryptocurrency. Back Bay Baptist Church in the city of St. Martin has announced that it will begin to accept digital currencies for any donations now that the coronavirus pandemic has allegedly made making standard fiat payments difficult for some attendees.
Back Bay Gives a Greenlight to Crypto Payments
Bitcoin and many of its digital counterparts were initially created to serve as payment tools. They were designed to push credit cards, checks and fiat currencies to the side, though this journey has been slow given that these assets and many others are prone to volatility and rapid price swings. It’s virtually impossible to predict when these currencies will move up or down, and thus many stores and retailers are hesitant to accept digital currencies as methods of payment. To an extent, we cannot blame them, as the idea of losing profit when running a business can be quite devastating.
Say, for example, you walk into a store and buy $50 worth of merchandise with bitcoin. For one reason or another, the store does not cash out or convert the BTC to fiat right away. A full 24 hours go by, and the price of bitcoin falls, causing your $50 to drop to about $35. You still get to walk away with everything you bought, but the store has lost $15 in revenue. Is that a fair scenario? Many business owners don’t think so.
Back Bay Baptist Church sees a real benefit to the growing use of crypto. They understand that many Americans (and people throughout the world) are experiencing financial problems following the introduction of the COVID-19 virus. This way, they can allow people to still feel connected to the church without delving into fiat-based savings that they may need for everyday family expenditures.
In addition, the church benefits because it does not miss out on its own financial needs. Back Bay stopped issuing collection baskets during masses when the coronavirus became a problem more than one and a half years ago, and it’s not looking back. Pastor Adam Bennett explained in an interview:
We stopped passing around an offering basket when COVID hit. We actually have a little basket in the back of the room.
What’s Accepted?
At the time of writing, the church accepts bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, Dogecoin, Die, Litecoin, and bitcoin cash. Bennett says:
I talked with a few others in the church who were into crypto, which grew into a discussion about it. Then I did some research and found that the Salvation Army accepts it. I looked at their platform and ended up deciding to use a different one for us… I’m of the opinion that in 20 or 30 years, crypto is going to be a way of life along with using blockchain technology.
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