Sending Agency Bitcoin Adoption
In networking discussions at the Missio Nexus Leadership and Global Alliance for Church Multiplication (GACX) conferences in September 2023, we had over a dozen finance officers from sending organizations asking us for guidance on how they could use Bitcoin to transfer money to projects and workers in difficult countries. We have since begun to imagine what it might look like to help missions organizations and churches “onboard” themselves in either holding and/or transferring money with Bitcoin. The main topics to be considered in this process are shown in the yellow graphic. There are many different companies and software tools out there that can provide the services for organizations to facilitate the adoption of Bitcoin into their operations. We’ve curated a list of services which we believe provide the best features for North American missions organizations. Note: In all of our education work we make it clear that we are not legal or financial advisors and each organization bears the responsibility for doing their own research regarding investment decisions and compliance to local laws. We have developed a framework for organizations based on their level of willingness to obtain and hold Bitcoin. Companies wanting to benefit from Bitcoin without holding the underlying asset It is possible to receive donations and send funds to workers overseas without actually ever dealing with Bitcoin on a company’s books. Engiven (https://www.engiven.com) is a donation service that allows donors to give in Bitcoin and then automatically converts the gift to USD before passing it on to the client. Engiven is SOC certified and handles gift receipting for donors. Strike (https://strike.me) offers business accounts to organizations and connects to their corporate bank account with their local currency. When sending payments internationally within countries that Strike has implemented, they are received instantly with almost no fee. The process bypasses the SWIFT system and other intermediaries like Western Union entirely. Strike accomplishes this by utilizing the global decentralized qualities of Bitcoin and the convenience of the lightning network layer to flash-convert the funds into Bitcoin while in transit and back into the currency of choice for the recipient to deposit into their own bank account. At no time is either party required to come in direct contact with Bitcoin. Strike requires “Know Your Customer” (KYC) compliance, which means there is an identity verification process when you open the account. Companies willing to hold Bitcoin to benefit from its versatility and the diversification of assets Following the example of Microstrategy CEO, Michael Saylor, many business leaders are catching on to the benefit of hedging against inflation in their corporate treasuries by including Bitcoin as a non-correlated asset class to the US dollar. Eleven ETF spot Bitcoin funds were launched in February of 2023, allowing individuals and corporations to indirectly gain exposure without the need to use a Bitcoin exchange or wallet software. Organizations with investment accounts can reap the rewards from Bitcoin’s historic 40-60% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is the leading ETF. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) is unique in that it holds custody of the Bitcoin they buy unlike other ETFs who use Coinbase as a common custodian. Shares of these ETFs are bought and sold on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq. River (https://river.com) is a Bitcoin-only exchange which we offer for consideration to organizations which want to directly buy, hold, and transfer Bitcoin for sending cross-border payments. They are SOC certified and registered as a money transmitter in a majority of US states. River can also be a helpful resource as organizations encounter regulatory and tax questions. Their education page (https://river.com/learn/) is an excellent resource.
