Bitcoins and faxes? Seems like quite the contradiction. But that hasn’t stopped a group of bitcoin enthusiasts from taking the best of bitcoin and translating it into the old-school fax machine.
The bitcoin community was recently introduced to Bitcoin Fax, which does exactly what it sounds like: sends faxes with bitcoin. This new service allows consumers to send faxes around the world without having to worry about registering with a company. It’s known as a pay-as-you-go FoIP service that works using bitcoin payments. And because it doesn’t have to rely on traditional payment methods, it helps reduce overhead costs for companies. Bitcoin, of course, eliminates those since there are no transaction costs to send the digital currency.
So how does Bitcoin Fax work? Like a regular fax, but without the extra payment steps. Users type in a fax number, upload a PDF and use bitcoin as the payment that is exchanged through the service. But because the service is still new, the full benefits aren’t quite known.
“It remains to be seen if using bitcoin for the occasional fax actually is easier and cheaper, however. FoIP plans from companies such as FaxSIPit are already quite affordable, and the case for businesses getting involved with bitcoin just to save a few pennies is not a strong one. Time is money, too, after all, and FoIP offered through traditional providers is simple,” wrote Mae Kowalke, a TMCnet contributor.
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