How to start a Bitcoin-Focused Business

October 20, 2022

This guide will give you some fast-track tips to help you start or start shifting into a Bitcoin-focused business.

I have managed a few companies of my own in the past, from eCommerce to local. I have been a founder twice, and in the last few years, I have focused diligently on Bitcoin only, not crypto.

With my background, I feel I can bring you up to speed with the tools and things to consider when starting or evolving into your own Bitcoin-focused business.

Bitcoin has fostered a unique culture, it has grown into something compelling that I confidently believe will help transform your business's outlook if your business values align with the values, truthful principles, and a higher standard of quality. While this topic could be a long-form novel in itself, let's dive in.

Maybe you want to integrate Bitcoin directly into your product or service offering to create additional value for customers and revenue for the business. Bitcoin is not a one size fits all for businesses. There is a way for the non-technical and the technical alike to find creative ways to integrate Bitcoin into their business either on a payments or tech stack level.

This write-up will consist primarily of integrating Bitcoin as a payments rail, a marketing tool, as well as a long-term balance sheet and savings technology to weather economic storms to create resiliency for your business and brand.

Technical education and know-how will be saved for another write-up. For now, let's dive into how your business can integrate Bitcoin and build a more Bitcoin-focused business.

Understanding the Bitcoin Circular Economy

Before jumping feet first into starting your Bitcoin business, are you aware of what the Bitcoin circular economy is?

In the Bitcoin circular economy, we pay in Bitcoin and receive the products and services we need.

There is a growing group of Bitcoiners who live on a Bitcoin standard (saving and spending in Bitcoin) as well as a group who love keeping a lighting wallet on their phone loaded up with some sats whenever there is an opportunity to support a Bitcoin business.

If you bring value, the Bitcoin circular economy is there, and users will rally around and support your mission.

One business that is truly helping create a circular economy is Oshi. Oshi empowers businesses to offer bitcoin rewards to customers. These incentives are often far better than a small % back or $ off coupon, especially to the growing base of Bitcoiners in the world. Supporting small businesses and local service providers is one way the Bitcoin community likes to make an impact. To learn more about the Bitcoin circular economy, read this write-up from BTC Mag.

Establishing your businesses Bitcoin payments system

The first and probably most important step to becoming a Bitcoin-focused business is accepting bitcoin payments.

One of the most popular ways to accept Bitcoin payments is BTCPay Server. BTPay Server is an open-source project that allows for non-custodial payments.

Open Source - simply means the code is auditable and can be reviewed by anyone.

Non-custodial - means you do not have to rely on a 3rd party or centralized service provider to help handle your payments.

Non-custodial solutions mean you also do not have to be subject to 1-4% fees for processing payments, thanks to the lightning network.

There are many ways that a business can start to accept bitcoin. We have made a simple BTCPay integration option available. You can find a video walkthrough of how to set BTCPay on Voltage, here, if you prefer a faster setup to follow with images, check here.

If you are open to using a centralized provider that charges a small fee, OpenNode is a great option. OpenNode reduces the complexity of accepting payments with nice integrations, at a sacrifice of data, and at a small cost.

Below is a breakdown of using BTCPay on Voltage compared to other service providers.

Incentivizing Bitcoin Payments from Customers

While global Bitcoin adoption is growing at a healthy rate it is still very early in the adoption curve of bitcoin as a payments technology.

While most consumers do not carry a Bitcoin wallet around day to day, you can incentivize customers to pay via bitcoin with cost savings or discounts. We mentioned the Oshi app earlier which is a great grassroots tool to extend % discounts to consumers.

Other apps that make bitcoin spending easy for the average consumer is Cash App and Strike. Cash App is a commonly used payment app among friends, and Strike is a newer app primarily focused on Bitcoin.

Each of these apps is fast and easy ways for consumers to pay your business with Bitcoin or the Bitcoin payment network.

Marketing your Bitcoin business

Getting any business off the ground and scaling is a daunting task. Luckily in the Bitcoin community, there are many great tools and resources available to create awareness to educate others about your product or service.

Twitter: While Twitter is not the first tool new business owners think of, it is chuck full of Bitcoin believers who intentionally seek out well-principled business owners with their bitcoin.
Oshi: allows you to offer Bitcoin rewards to consumers. This powerful platform replaces stars, punch cards, and the myriad of apps out there.
BTCMap: Everyone knows Google Maps, but have you heard of BTCMaps? This platform allows all businesses that accept bitcoin to be listed! Showcase if you accept on-chain payments, lightning payments, or contactless payments.
Zaprite - Making bitcoin invoicing, project management, and expense tracking.
Apollo - allows you to gather reviews and users who leave reviews get compensated in sats.
Stacker News - This is a FAST growing news website that is powered by the Bitcoins lightning network. Showcase your product or service updates with a deeply involved community to earn new raving fans.
Stakwork - If you are starting with a small budget and need help with business automation, Stakwork is a great resource that uses AI and the global workforce to help automate tasks. At Voltage, I use this to transcribe video content we create.

Bitcoin Standard: Balance Sheet, Treasury & Mining

When considering your balance sheet and treasury strategy, be sure to consult with a professional CPA and attorney. None of this is financial or strategic treasury advice.

While the legacy banking and payment rails do not make it easy to save and spend in bitcoin there are tools available that can help empower brands to start thinking and operating on a Bitcoin standard.

Microstrategy: put together a Bitcoin playbook that businesses can model after for crafting their balance sheet and treasury strategy.
Deloitte has an article written that breaks down CFO insights when considering a Bitcoin balance sheet strategy.
Swan: Offers brands the ability to buy bitcoin at the lowest costs to start building their balance sheet. Swan also offers an employee plan that allows business owners to create incentives for employees with monthly payroll rewards in bitcoin!
River: has created a great platform for buying bitcoin with low fees, and enabling you to manage remote mining solutions. Their platform enables purchasing and mining from one simple interface. (Talk to your accountant about Section 179 of the tax code to see if you can write off purchasing miners for your business)

As of October 13th, FASB recommends that firms should use fair-value accounting methods for Bitcoin. This allows companies to report losses and gains immediately giving Bitcoin treatment just like other traditional assets. This is a great accounting update that makes it more palatable for organizations to start saving in Bitcoin or operating on a Bitcoin standard.

The Takeaway

Creating a bitcoin-focused business, or integrating bitcoin payments into your established business is becoming easier by the day.

We take pride in helping technologists and business owners integrate Lightning payments every in the easiest fashion. Consumers want quality cost savings, business owners want less counterparty risk and reliable payments.

Bitcoin is giving optionality to everyone globally. If you are a consumer wanting to help educate more businesses to adopt bitcoin payments, check out Bitcoin For Local Business.

Feel free to reach out to us for any Q’s or support on our Discord or email us at support@voltage.cloud

Share this post