Peter Noid, a large restaurant operator in Thailand, believes that Bitcoin trading has a bright future

Golden Finance News - Analysts say that although the debate over Bitcoin's scaling has endangered companies in some countries, few real-world business activities have been affected, such as the tourism industry.

Noid said, we hold 100% of Bitcoin and never exchange it for cash. Image source: Golden Finance

Peter Noid, owner of Pattaya Beer Garden, a large local restaurant and bar in Pattaya, Thailand, expressed his views on the popularity of Bitcoin trading in the country.

——Accept Bitcoin payments

Pattaya Beer Garden, which seats 400 and serves about 2,000 customers a day, began accepting Bitcoin payments and accrediting Bitcoin transactions in early 2014, when the Thai government first relaxed its legal requirements for Bitcoin.

“I have been a supporter of Bitcoin for a long time. As soon as the Thai government announced that Bitcoin was not illegal, we started accepting this payment method,” Noid said.

In 2013, the Bank of Thailand declared the use of Bitcoin illegal in the country, but the central bank changed its mind in early 2014. However, Noid explained that the government still strictly prohibits buying (Bitcoin) domestically and selling it abroad. It was actually the change in the government's position that "prompted us to start accepting Bitcoin," he recalled. However, the country has not yet issued any regulations on Bitcoin, and the central bank's opinion is very authoritative, so early Bitcoin transaction recipients can only tread carefully.

“In Thailand, although Bitcoin is becoming more and more accepted, merchants are still very cautious,” Noid explained:

There are already many Bitcoin exchanges in Thailand, and the trading volume is relatively stable. It can be said that Bitcoin is developing relatively steadily here. However, merchant acceptance is still not high, and only a small number of merchants in Pattaya and Bangkok will accept Bitcoin transactions.

Noid uses Bitpay to process transactions.

He said: "We hold 100% of our holdings in Bitcoin and never exchange them for cash."

He is very confident about the future of Bitcoin. Although only a small part of the orders in their restaurant are completed with Bitcoin, other merchants that also accept Bitcoin payments have far fewer Bitcoin transactions than Pattaya Beer Garden. They have "about 1 or 2 BTC transactions" every day.

“I love the concept of Bitcoin and I firmly believe that merchants like me can help increase awareness of Bitcoin,” Noid said.

To achieve this goal, Noid put a "We accept Bitcoin" label in the most conspicuous place in the store, which eventually led to "many people asking what Bitcoin is." In this way, he can introduce this digital currency to more people, and Noid likes this feeling.