MTB.LK first in Sri Lanka to accept cryptocurrency payments

MTB.LK has become the first Sri Lankan company to start accepting payments via cryptocurrencies, launching the facility on their website on 1 September. 

MTB.LK defines itself as an ‘experience company’, providing uniquely curated outdoor experiences to tourists and locals alike. Their main business has been providing guided mountain bike tours for tourists who visit Sri Lanka. This niche, high-value segment of tourism is largely under-tapped in the country but offers much potential for growth. 

The company boasts over 80 mountain biking trails and adventure tours, starting from those that last a few hours on a simple trail for novice riders, to gruelling mountain climbs for the avid cycling enthusiasts. Their experiences are enhanced with food tours, waterfall expeditions, and bike packing tours (where a multiday tour is conducted on bikes carrying tents, food, and equipment, all by the riders themselves).

With the launch of the new platform on their website www.mtb.lk, they will be able to accept payments for their services using cryptocurrencies from all over the world.  MTB.LK said the cryptocurrency market has swelled up, to now be worth over $ 2 trillion. A year ago, it was worth $ 260 billion. While sceptics view this as a financial medium for fraudsters, the rise in market values of these coins, backed by the positive sentiments towards the blockchain technology which makes the existence of cryptocurrencies possible, has created a real impact on the investments of mainstream investors worldwide.

Given that cryptocurrency transactions take place on a one-to-one basis, in a peer-to-peer networking structure, it takes out the need for paperwork, brokering fees, commissions, and other conditions. Cryptocurrency usage limits and even eliminates transaction fees. This is because the data miners, who carry out the number-crunching required for transactions, are paid by generating cryptocurrency for the work they do. 

Therefore, you do not incur a cost. While you may still have to pay a fee for the third-party platforms that maintain your wallet, these costs are likely to be lower than your regular transaction and stamp fees.  There is an estimated 2.2 billion people in the world who have access to a mobile phone and the internet but without access to traditional banking services. The development of cryptocurrencies could well be a solution in providing these individuals with access to financial services and credit, thereby broadening credit availability across the globe. In the same manner, cross-border transactions and transfers can be conducted without the complexities of exchange rates and interest rates, thereby making international trade more efficient. 

In the traditional banking and financial system, you give stewardship of your finances to a third party. At times as we have seen in the past, there will be occasions where these entities fail, and you lose access to your own funds. When using cryptocurrencies, unless you delegate a third party to manage your wallet, you have complete ownership of your funds, and given the encryption technologies employed throughout the ledger, account tampering and fraud are eliminated from the system, thus increasing security in a way that the traditional system simply cannot. 

While there are many such benefits of cryptocurrency usage, it is still relatively new and presently unregulated by many governments. 

However, the company said it was encouraging to see Sri Lankan entrepreneurs embracing such new technologies and avenues without being limited to the traditional ways of working. This breed of innovative thinkers and passionate entrepreneurs is precisely what Sri Lanka requires at this juncture to support the country through its financial woes.