比特币热何时蔓延到消费者？

    从五年前问世到现在，比特币热已经席卷全球。餐馆和商店开始悄然出现“本店接受比特币”的标示，甚至在新罕布什尔州偏僻的便利熟食店里都能看到。不过，对使用比特币支付趋之若鹜的消费者却未曾出现。

    新罕布什尔州熟食店Twin Mountain Country Store（TMCS）店主比尔•波钦斯基说，他每个月只会见到大约两笔20多美元的比特币交易。TMCS开始接受比特币是因为曾有位顾客进店要求用比特币付款，于是比尔读了一些资料，然后建立了一个用于收款的电子钱包。

    他表示：“想用比特币付款的顾客少之又少。这东西技术属性太强。”

    尽管是个热门话题，但只有很少的购物者使用比特币在零售商那里进行付款。至少到目前为止，比特币更多地是一种新奇玩意儿，而非现金和信用卡的真正竞争者。

    来自比特币信息网站bitcoin.info的数据显示，今年10月份，比特币日交易数量为7-8万笔，和两年前相比大约翻了一番。但美联储（Federal Reserve）2013年的研究显示，每年的银行卡交易数量为260亿笔。和后者相比，比特币交易微不足道。

    比特币交易量如此之低，部分原因在于它属于高度技术范畴。比特币由化名中本聪的开发者缔造，是在两个人之间进行交换的一组加密代码。要制造比特币，就必须解开复杂的数学算式。只要不故意透露姓名，任何人都能一直在匿名状态下使用比特币。

    有利的一面是，这意味着盗窃比特币很困难，而且比特币可以瞬间完成转账。不利的一面是，比特币的价值波动很剧烈（今年11月初，一枚比特币的价值约为420美元，而一周前这个数字是330美元），这造成用户不愿意持有比特币。更关键的一点在于能用比特币消费的场所并不是很多。

    更多的零售商开始接受比特币。虽然具体数量并不十分明确，但Coinbase和BitPay等服务商帮助商家把比特币兑换成美元，从而为比特币消费打开了一扇窗口。Coinbase表示，该公司已经和3.6万户商家签约，而且这个数字正以每个月10%的速度递增。BitPay称，该公司的签约商家已经超过4万户，是今年初的四倍。

    据BitPay介绍，青睐比特币的商家往往热衷此道，或者销售的是电视等大宗消费品以及旅游等不可退款的产品。该公司营销副总裁斯蒂芬妮•沃戈解释了比特币吸引人的原因：“如果买的是大宗消费品，人们会希望确保自己的信息安全而且保密。从商家角度而言，小额交易接受银行卡缺乏效率。手续费会侵蚀利润。”

    尽管沃戈热情满满，但接受比特币的小型零售商每个月只会碰到几次比特币交易。比尔•芬利在温哥华开的服装店Hemp & Company去年10月份开始接受比特币。他说，比特币消费每个月大概会出现三次。尽管销售额较少，但芬利对此仍保持积极态度。

    Since it’s inception five years ago, bitcoin hype has spread across the globe. “Bitcoin accepted here” stickers have popped up in restaurants and stores. It’s even made it to Twin Mountain Country Store, a convenience store and deli in a remote corner of New Hampshire. But customers aren’t exactly flocking to pay with the digital currency.

    Twin Mountain’s owner Bill Bochynski said he only sees about two bitcoin transactions a month in the $20 range. He said he started accepting bitcoin because someone came into the shop and wanted to pay with it, so he did some reading and set up a digital wallet to accept it.

    “The number of people who want to pay with bitcoin is in the onesies and twosies,” he said. “It’s extremely technical and geeky.”

    Despite the buzz, relatively few shoppers use bitcoin when buying from retailers that accept it. At least for now, the currency is more of a curiosity than a true rival to cash and credit cards.

    In October, there were about 70,000-80,000 bitcoin transactions a day according to bitcoin.info, or about double from two years ago. But the numbers are minuscule compared with the 26 billion card transactions that occur each year according to a 2013 study by the Federal Reserve Bank.

    Part of the reason why transaction volumes remain so low is bitcoin is very much the realm of the technorati. Created by a developer using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin is an encrypted code exchanged between two people. To create bitcoins, people must solve complex math problems. Anyone using the digital currency can remain anonymous as long as they don’t deliberately reveal their names.

    On the upside, this means bitcoin is harder to steal, and can be transferred instantaneously. On the downside the value fluctuates wildly (as of early November 2014 one bitcoin was valued at about $420, but a week earlier it was $330), making users reluctant to keep it. Plus, key point, there aren’t many places where you can spend bitcoin.

    More retailers are starting to accept digital currency. The exact numbers aren’t entirely clear, but services like Coinbase and BitPay that help merchants convert bitcoins into dollars provide a window. Coinbase said it has 36,000 merchants signed up and that those ranks grow 10% growth monthly. Bitpay said it has over 40,000 merchants, or quadruple from the start of the year.

    According to BitPay merchants who favor bitcoin tend to be enthusiasts or merchants who sell high-ticket items like TVs or non-refundable items like travel. Stephanie Wargo, vice president of marketing at BitPay explains the appeal. “If you buy a large ticket item, you want to make sure your information is safe and secure,” she said. “And from a merchant standpoint it’s not effective to accept cards for small ticket items. Fees eat into your profits.”

    Despite Wargo’s enthusiasm, small retailers that accept bitcoin often only get a few transactions a month with the currency. Bill Finley started accepting bitcoin last October at his clothing store Hemp & Company in Vancouver, and gets about three bitcoin sales a month, he said. But he gave the low sales numbers a positive spin.