You’ve probably been hearing a lot about Bitcoins in the news recently but the truth of the matter is that many of us don’t really know what Bitcoins are or what they do. Bitcoin is the first decentralized digital currency. They’re essentially coins that you can send over the internet as a form of digital currency. Bitcoins can be generated by anybody running a free application called a Bitcoin Miner. Bitcoins are transferred anonymously peer-to-peer and function without any type of central authority. Bitcoin is changing finance the same way Shapeways and 3D printing is changing manufacturing.
In the meantime, Bitcoins have a really cool and recognizable symbol. Have a look at a few Bitcoin inspired 3D prints.
Bitcoin Bubble Blow by spruce
With this you can blow Bitcoin bubbles because it’s more fun to blow bubbles than money.
Bitcoin Ring by goebat
Let everyone know you’re a Bitcoin user by wearing this cool ring.
Bitcoin Address Keeper by AyameDeude
This coin has the generally accepted BTC Sign, as well as a latin phrase that roughly translates to “Equality we can verify.”
Hey Eric, It’s great to see two technologies converge where both have huge potential to change the way we produce and consume in a global economy.
Please do consider accepting Bitcoin payments. Adafruit has just started accepting Bitcoin for their electronic components, so if Shapeways follows I’ll be able to support my maker hobbies with Bitcoin 🙂
I have never used Bitcoins. I have only just heard about it but i guess it seems neat. Sure, accept Bitcoins, why not?
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am really impressed to read everthing at single
place.
I designed the bitcoin ring in this post and I, for one, would be over the moon if you guys started accepting bitcoin (and even happier if you gave your shop owners the option to be paid in bitcoin)! Bitcoin is gaining HUGE momentum right now and you guys accepting it would surely bring a flood of new business and media attention. Shapeways have been at the forefront of 3D printing and adopting bitcoin could be a massive boon for you guys!
Incorporating bitcoin payment options would be far easier than you might think. I urge you to check out BitPay (https://bitpay.com/). They’d be happy to get you set up and you can even cash out immediately to dollars (or whatever) if you choose to.
If you do start accepting bitcoin, I’ll be shouting it from the rooftops.
Please accept bitcoin. 3D printing and bitcoin is the perfect combination. Both are innovative and disruptive. Both are major players in the new industrial revolution. And if you don’t want to be visionary: 6 billion people don’t have access to normal banking systems and visa cards. It it not improbable that amongst those 6 billion is the Albert Einstein of mechanical engineering, sculpting or art. You can be sure this person have internet and will be able to print his or her visions with you using bitcoin.
If you start accepting Bitcoin let me know. I would definitely be interested in paying with Bitcoin for your products.
Would love to see bitcoin as payment option.
3D printing and Bitcoins will change the world for a better place.
Definitely you should accept bitcoins. It will bring extra business — realistically, at the moment, only a tiny amount, but that will grow. But more importantly, there is no such thing as a chargeback in Bitcoin. Once you have the money, it’s yours, and it can never be clawed back. Accepting bitcoins is therefore much lower risk than accepting credit cards. The fees are vastly less too.
You should definitely take Bitcoins because it opens up a whole market sector, namely the unbanked and underbanked. Many folks dont have USD payment mechanisms available but there is nothing stopping them from using Bitcoins. Personally I suggest holding onto at least a portion of the Bitcoins you receive from sales but if you don’t want to (or need to reinvest them into your costs) then you should look at https://bitpay.com, a Bitcoin payment processor. With Bitpay it’s as simple as sending the user to a bitpay URL during the checkout process, the user pays Bitpay, Bitpay makes a callback to your domain to tell you the transaction is done, Bitpay optionally sells the bitcoins for you and deposits them in your bank account.
easy peasy
plato
Oh hey I additionally suggest: If you do take Bitcoins, put a little checkbox in the checkout “Add 5% to your total as a donation to the model creator” for models whose creators opted in to this donation process. In fact, I bet after that you would save that 5% on CC fees, so maybe you could offer cheaper prices for Bitcoin payments.
I’ve never bought anything from you guys before, but I’ve known about you for a while. If you accepted bitcoins, I would start buying things from you today.
Would love to spend my BTC at your store.
I find your business quite intriguing and if you go with Bitcoin, you’ll have me as a life-long customer, and quite probably several of my friends as well.
I have purchased from shapeways before. I would appreciate bitcoin as a future payment option.
Please support this innovative technology, this goes hand in hand with 3d printing.
Please accept bitcoin!!!!
It makes ordering so much easyer!!!!
I would buy some stuff right now if you accepted Bitcoins.
I have to admit that I had never heard of “bitcoins” before reading this post, but I do find the idea intriguing. I would love to learn more!