Has anyone considered accepting BTC for commissions, and even commissioning artists with cryptocurrencies? As artists, and the clients of artists, we need something efficient that will also protect our interests. I believe that cryptos have a good future with the art world and our merchants, and here is why.
Advantages of cryptocurrencies over paypal (for both buyer and seller)
International, and can be used anywhere, esp in countries not served by paypal
For example, say that you are an American and you use the USD, and you have an artist in Ukraine that you want to commission. However, Ukraineans cannot accept payments through paypal. An easy way to solve this would be to use bitcoins, which is legal and accepted worldwide with no middlemen.
Anonymous for both buyer and seller (good for porn artists, lolis, furry, ryona, other "questionable" art niches)
A lot of artists draw things that we may not want the whole world to know, let alone have it attached to our personal lives and our names. Same with clients who buy commission from artists.
No middleman with draconian rules (like paypal against porn, for example)
When you use cryptos, you answer to no one. You can buy whatever you want, and sell whatever you want. Sell all the loli furry commissions you want, and no one will be the wiser. You don't need a middleman giving you terms and conditions for using their service. You have your own wallet that you can do whatever you want with. It's truly a peer-to-peer transaction.
Lower fees
Middlemen take a certain percentage for you to use their service. If you have your own crypto wallet, you only pay the "mining fee" (or gas fee, transaction fee, depends on the cryptocurrency) to a miner. However, this is STILL lower than what paypal charges. I will show you an example, where an artist charges $50 for a sketch commission:
In this picture, it shows that if an artist charges $50 for a sketch, paypal will take $1.75, while if he used bitcoin, he'd only be paying a transaction fee of $0.12.
Faster confirmation than cards/international exchanges
Even if you can use a credit card to buy coffee right then and there, it usually takes 2-3 days for it to clear on your card. Cryptos, however, get cleared within a couple hours at most.
Buyer can't fraud and pull out, but then you rely on your reputation more
Many of artists had that one or two buyers who, once receiving the artwork, pull the money back on paypal. You don't have this issue with cryptocurrencies because once money is sent and in the seller's hand, it can't be taken back (kind of like cold hard cash). On the other hand, the artist will need to keep his reputation and provide a good service, which he should be doing anyway.
Easier to set up than paypal
All you do is get a hardware wallet, or download a desktop wallet like Electrum. Bitcoin Core wallet takes a while to load all the blockchains until you can use it, but after that, it's good to go. You don't even need a social security number or a tax ID.
The government doesn't tax your crypto earnings (unless you exchange it for fiat, then it's considered profit)...
I am not against paying taxes, and it's not the government "stealing" from us. It's what keeps our roads fixed and our public facilities functioning. However, you do not have to worry about taxes on your cryptocurrency earning and spending unless you decide to exchange your cryptos for fiat.
Disadvantages of cryptos over paypal/fiat:
- speculative and the price goes up and down
- not as many merchants accept crypto payments at the moment, so if you want to use it today, you'll likely have to exchange for fiat
Getting a wallet
Wallet guide: https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-for-beginners/what-is-bitcoin-wallets
My personally recommended wallets to use: hardware, electrum, bitcoin core
Difference between wallets and exchanges
Exchanges usually require identity verification, which can take a couple days if not weeks, and an exchange may not be served in all countries. Wallets do not have these requirements and limitations. A wallet can be used anywhere, and almost immediately upon setting up. You do not need to respond to anyone for that.
Warning: DO NOT use exchanges as wallets, but just as short term holds just to add/withdraw cash. Exchanges can also ban you, or freeze your account (as in case of the artist here).
Another pro to a wallet is that once it's set up, you can use it to directly buy weed if you're into that. Or other products, including commissioning other artists without the rules and transaction fees that paypal has.
2nd warning: I DO NOT recommend "web wallets" which are provided by 3rd parties, including exchanges such as Coinbase. At least not for long term storage. I recommend desktop and hardware wallets instead:
Desktop wallets:
- Electrum wallet (NOT Electrum Pro): https://electrum.org/#home
- Bitcoin Core: https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-core/
Hardware wallets:
Let me know if you have any questions or recommendations that I should add to this list.