Crypto Currencies Have Gone Mainstream

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I [Laurel Delaney] talked about how bitcoin and cryptocurrencies were going to become mainstream in 2022 during my Global Trade Trends Report 2022.  By the ads featured during Super Bowl 2022, it's happening.

Four ads touting cryptocurrencies aired during the three-and-a-half hour broadcast. While that's not a large number, it's still a sign that cryptocurrencies have gone mainstream.

My favorite ad was the one that featured a QR code floating across the screen with background music for 60 seconds. It confused many people, including me, but many others scanned the codes on their screens with their phones.

Cryptocurrencies are a form of digital currencies built on blockchain technology, using a public distributed ledger that keeps track of every transaction. They are decentralized and not connected to any third party like a bank.

Read on to learn more.

The Pros and Cons for Accepting Bitcoin for Global Small Business Payments

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Whether you think Bitcoin is going to keep going up or is due for a correction, you should consider these pros and cons  – benefits and risks – before accepting Bitcoin as a payment method in your global small business. 

And it is important to know that PayPal is getting into cryptocurrency for its customers, too.

Today in Global Small Business: Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) Dominate 2021?

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Globally Local, one of the world’s first vegan fast-food chains, announced it will begin publicly trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GBLY on April 16, 2021.  Interesting name‎!
• Pandemic shipping delays and product scarcity could last through summer 2021.
• Cryptocurrency (bitcoin) is increasingly being used for transactions and is beginning to go mainstream – and global – as an investment.
• Quote of the week:  "Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history.  Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks." – Stephen Hawking
• Will artificial intelligence dominate 2021?
• The future of the workforce – robotics and manufacturing.

Today in Global Small Business: 5 Takeaways on Building a Global Business

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• From sports analogies to going global, here are takeaways on building a business. 
• Widely discussed but often overlooked topics on international expansion.
• Quote of the week: “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive, but those who can best manage change." – Leon C. Megginson
• Wendy's is using breakfast to launch internationally.
• Insights on how the e-commerce market in the US is changing and what is coming in the year ahead (interview).
• The floodgates opened on Facebook Inc.’s Libra Association as no fewer than five more companies exited the group overseeing the social network’s proposed cryptocurrency: Mastercard Inc., Visa Inc., eBay Inc., Stripe Inc. and Mercado Pago.