If we started a bar that is Bitcoin or cash only and alcohol prices are slightly cheaper because we save on fees, would we survive or go down under? If yes/no, why?
Discussion
Iād pay more to drink at such a placeā¦so thereās that.
Well that's just you. We are talking about a business surviving and being profitable.
If weāre being serious itās a big swing.
Source: Drunk people using phones.
Post hyperbitcoinisation Iāll be opening a bar in my citidel and there wonāt be any payments, all bitcoiners welcome. Great music, couple of pool tables and pinball, plenty of screens, great bbq, and a fabulous selection of whisky and gin!
Probably dead a lot on the area youāre in. But itās not that uncommon to find cash only bars now. So adding a bitcoin/lightning option on top of that shouldnāt make it any worse.
*depends - f*ing autodirect.
Where though?
I can tell you in the European country I'm from, you can get away with not accepting cards legally, and you can accept BTC (but not force people to pay in it). And cheaper booze is absolutely a no brainer for success.
However, if you are hiring people, you can pay their salary in BTC only (there's a cap of 30%), and with a social security rate exceeding 33% of the gross salary, hiring people to help is the number 2 way most new bars and restaurants don't make it beyond one or two years. Number 1 reason is, obviously, rent. Which you won't be realistically able to pay in BTC.
Then there's reason number 3: government.
You have to convert every payment to EUR when you declare your income, your sales tax and any deductions -- and if your initial idea was not to do it, then the final answer to your question is a big fat NO, you wouldn't survive.
If your tax filing feels too low, the government will ignore it and bill you for whatever they feel you must be making.
And eventually, they'll just crush you, one way or another.
Interesting. Guess I have to see how it would work in the US. Americans are addicted to credit cards.
However, (believe it or not), your government(s) are way less overbearing and intrusive, orders of magnitude more business-friendly and, unlike in socialist Europe, they prefer businesses to succeed.
(I work for a US-based company and spend quite a lot of time there)
I agree with you. In my comment I skimmed over the market aspects of your question because I truly think that 9/10 times it's the government's fault.
People in (Western) Europe seem to be even more addicted to cashless payments.
That was one more thing that covid definitely tipped the scales in favor of.
Cash payments were forbidden in many places, like public transportation, despite that being something blatantly illegal - they "solved" the challenge by making it compulsory to wash your hands every time you touched cash. I kid you not.
These days I'm working on a project in the Balkanic region and every time I run into a "cash only" shop - bars, restaurants, convenience stores... - I still find myself surprised.
Just set aside 1-2% for 5-6 years ahead and you can always keep the price down)