ethnews.com
The Swiss online retailer group, Digitec Galaxus AG, has announced today, March 19, that both of its online retail stores, Digitec and Galaxus, will begin accepting cryptocurrency as a payment option for its customers. Digitec and Galaxus customers will now be able to pay with their choice of up to 10 different cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and TRON's TRX. Though there are plenty of crypto payment options to choose from, the feature will only be made available on orders of 200 Swiss francs or more. The payment itself will be processed by Danish crypto payment provider Coinify, which will charge a 1.5 percent fee for converting the choice of cryptocurrency into Swiss francs for Digitec or Galaxus to receive.
As Digitec Galaxus AG opens its doors to those looking to spend their cryptocurrency, the online retailer also provided additional reading material for those who may have just found their way into the cryptosphere. Along with both sites now selling hardware wallets, the Swiss group also published a separate blog post describing the differences between paper wallets, web wallets, software wallets, and hardware wallets, as well as breaking down their strengths and weaknesses.
On top of its wallet explainer, Digitec Galaxus AG published a piece on Team Spectre, the company's "most disruptive and brazen" group of six engineers who helped implement the crypto payment system. A fourth document features an interview with Digitec Galaxus AG's co-founder and chief information officer, Oliver Herren, in which he explains the thinking behind the company's decision to add a crypto payment option and outlines his own doubts as someone who is "not fully convinced of the advantages blockchain offers over other database technologies."
In general, everything about Digitec Galaxus AG's announcement is so unlike other businesses attempting to tap into the cryptosphere. It's just so … easy-going. In the announcement, Herren jokes that he's "expecting all the crypto millionaires in Switzerland to buy from us in the future ;-)," emoticon and all. In Herren's interview, when asked why anyone would bother to pay with crypto, he responds: "Maybe you have some and want to make use of it. Perhaps you can't turn it into real money because your bank won't accept it. Or maybe just because you can? Perhaps you simply enjoy trying new things." Herren even touches on the QuadrigaCX saga, quipping that he uses a password manager to avoid "running Gerald Cotten's risk."
Even the informational reading is light and quick. The wallet explainer cheekily remarks that to trade cryptocurrency, "you don't need anyone's permission." And Team Spectre is described as a "piratesque" group with its own energy drink that's "not very tasty, but … it keeps you awake."
Odds are, Digitec Galaxus AG's announcement style won't catch on. The US Securities and Exchange Commission isn't about to end regulation announcements with the 100 emoji to let you know how cool of an enforcer it is. Nevertheless, it's refreshing to see a retailer announce a crypto payment option and look beyond the crypto hodlers audience to crypto beginners who want a business they can trust and easily access, like Digitec and/or Galaxus, to explain what type of wallet they should use or why a business should be interested in crypto payments. It's convenient, it's approachable, and it kind of feels like a hug in a cryptosphere full of handshakes.