As a major hub for international business, South Florida is becoming ground zero for the cryptocurrency revolution. In fact, Miami hosted the 2018 North American Bitcoin Conference— the fifth and most attended installment of the conference—and is slated to host the 2019 show.

The appealing aspect of cryptocurrencies is the ability to facilitate international transactions where a business relies heavily on international clientele and investors. Using cryptocurrency for major international transactions can bypass the typical intermediaries such as correspondent banks, yet, still provide “real-time” transaction settlements similar to the real-time gross settlement system (RTGS).

Cryptocurrencies: Should I or Shouldn't I?

There could be several advantages to using a cryptocurrency. For example, transacting business only in bitcoin means you would no longer have to manage multiple currency accounts. All that you would need is a single bitcoin wallet. The payments are very fast, and competitive with the speed of the RTGS system, and they are secure and confidential. In addition, crypto transactions have a reduced credit risk, since the funds must be available in the bitcoin wallet at the time of payment.

Cryptocurrencies can also streamline and simplify foreign exchange management, and can be ideal if you are doing business with countries experiencing currency volatility, since holding currency in a universal settlement currency may protect you from sudden severe drops in the value of local currency.