JustStrings.com now accepts bitcoin!

JustStrings.com has been the go-to source for musical instrument strings since 1997. Our mission is to provide the largest selection of musical instrument strings and accessories, exceptional, personalized service, and outstanding value. As part of this mission, we have now added bitcoin as one of the many payment methods available at checkout!

In a world where over a billion remain unbanked, bitcoin shines like a beacon of hope. It’s the first truly global, permission-less, rules-based monetary system. This digital currency, decentralized and free from the shackles of traditional banking, offers a way for the unbanked to join the global economy.

Now that JustStrings.com accepts bitcoin, one no longer needs a bank account to take advantage of the many benefits of shopping online for musical instrument strings and accessories. The only things needed are a digital wallet app and a smartphone or computer, technologies now widely available even in less-developed regions.

In short, bitcoin is a game-changer for the unbanked of the world. It offers a way to take part in the global economy with all the benefits of fast, secure, and low-cost transactions. And as more and more businesses accept bitcoin, the world becomes a more inclusive place.

For any questions that you may have, here’s a link to an extensive resource about bitcoin: https://www.hope.com. To illustrate the utility of bitcoin, here’s a quote from macroeconomist and systems engineer Lyn Alden:

“I’ve done transactions in fiat and bitcoin. I haven't done transactions in gold, Apple stock, or anything else.

I can send bitcoin to anyone with an internet connection globally, within the hour on-chain, or within seconds via Lightning, with no centralized party capable of blocking it. Meanwhile, my international fiat wire transfers take days and often get blocked by centralized parties and then I have to sort through layers of bank customer service to figure out which side the blockage occurred on and why. Happens all the time.

And recipients of international dollar transfers that don't have access to eurodollar accounts often get forcibly converted into local currency at fake exchange rates, whereas sending bitcoin can reach them directly, around their local banking system.

Bitcoin can be brought across borders in unlimited size, whereas fiat and gold are very limited at ports of entry. That doesn't matter much to most Americans but it can matter a lot for people in the 160+ other currency monopolies in the world that often want to leave one country for another with their savings intact. It's not theoretical - I personally know people that have done this and have fled hyper-inflationary jurisdictions thanks to it. That's a monetary use case.

I've spoken with plenty of human rights advocates in authoritarian countries who turned to bitcoin when their bank accounts were frozen. It helps them keep receiving donations, keep their funds from getting arbitrarily taken, etc. That's another monetary use case. It's the fallback for financial de-platforming, confiscation, censorship, etc.

When I travel globally, which I do many times per year, I can't access any of my physical gold in the United States, and all of my modes of payment (other than a small wad of physical cash) are reliant entirely on an international chain of credit- I have to trust my U.S. banking institutions and their various counterparties to keep my cards working. But I can customize some of my bitcoin setup so that I can access self-custodial bitcoin anywhere, which could be helpful in a pinch. In some countries I can spend it directly on merchants, while for others there are peer-to-peer marketplaces to convert it to local currency, which greatly increases my options if need be rather than making me entirely reliant on my institutions back in the US.

So, what someone gets by holding bitcoin is optionality and global availability that their other monies can't provide them, and in a package that has less ongoing supply dilution than fiat or gold (and ultimately with zero dilution).

And then on top of that, there is an investment thesis that this money will continue to catch on due to having the above-mentioned characteristics, and thus reach closer to its total addressable market (which is basically anyone who wants to hold some nonzero percentage of their net worth in self-custodial and globally portable money that can't be diluted). Even if one is in a jurisdiction where they don't feel those attributes are helpful to them and thus doesn't directly hold it for its monetary properties, they might instead hold it within an investment vehicle because they view those attributes as being attractive to others and thus likely to continue gaining adoption.

The majority of bitcoin doesn't move very often, because it's held for savings or a long-term investment outlook. But the fraction that does move, can move with very high velocity due to how efficient it is. Due to the fact that modern monies get rapidly diluted, we tend to treat money and investments as separate, whereas with bitcoin, some portion of it can be locked away as savings/investment, while another portion can be used for spending or working capital.”