Fold wants to put bitcoin in your pocket at Starbucks, Whole Foods, and Target. The startup rolled out a web version of its app for Starbucks purchases today, offering customers a 20% discount when th
Fold wants to put bitcoin in your pocket at Starbucks, Whole Foods, and Target. The startup rolled out a web version of its app for Starbucks purchases today, offering customers a 20% discount when they pay with bitcoin. Whole Foods and Target come next.
The discount trick works because Fold buys gift cards from major retailers at below face value, then passes the savings to users. Corbin Pon, who helped build Fold, explained the model over email: "We get cards from multiple brands at a discount and pass these savings to our customers through Fold." The three cofounders also run cardforcoin.com, where people trade unwanted gift cards for bitcoin. That operation feeds directly into Fold.
Most bitcoin startups feel forced. They jam cryptocurrency into products that don't need it. Fold approaches the problem differently. Pon said the team considered accepting payments through conventional channels like PayPal but chose bitcoin from the start. "Technically, we could accept payments through other services, but foremost, we wanted to build a great app for the bitcoin community. Bitcoin also provides us a significant advantage when combating fraud. Since there are no chargebacks, companies like ours are protected from the danger of disingenuous users."
The founders built Fold because bitcoin was stuck in a weird place. Pon put it bluntly: "There was crazy powerful mining farms, advanced trading tools, but it was nearly impossible to get a latte." All the infrastructure existed for speculation and technical tinkering. Nothing existed for buying coffee.
Expanding to Whole Foods and Target happens soon, Pon said. "We are planning on adding Target and Whole Foods very soon. We're currently testing to make sure the technology works just as well there as it does in Starbucks." Going forward, Fold will chase the retailers its users care about. Pon said the team watches customer requests closely to decide which stores come next.
Mobile apps for iOS and Android are coming as well. Pon promised those would be "the best apps in bitcoin."
