Why Every Cafe Should Launch Its Own Cryptocurrency

For too long, independent cafes have relied on tired business models such as selling coffee for slightly more than it costs to make. This has left an enormous opportunity untapped: making the process of buying a coffee considerably harder.

A proprietary cryptocurrency is the obvious next step. A stamp card rewards repeat custom. A token creates an ecosystem. The distinction will be important when you explain the development costs to your accountant.

Introduce the bean economy

Call it BeanCoin, unless another cafe has already done so, in which case call it Bean Protocol. The word “protocol” lends seriousness to an asset whose principal utility is a cheese toastie.

Customers should first download an app, create a wallet and exchange pounds for tokens. Only then may they approach the till. This creates a valuable onboarding journey where previously there was merely a queue.

Let the market decide the price of lunch

Traditional menu boards are rigid. A tokenised cafe offers dynamic pricing without anyone having to change the chalk. On Monday, a cappuccino costs the equivalent of £3.40. By Thursday, it may cost a conservatory.

If customers complain, explain that they are early. This is the appropriate response to any concern during the first five years of an innovation.

Write the white paper

You will need a roadmap. Phase one is coffee. Phase two is community. Phase three is a decentralised breakfast layer. Do not describe phase three in operational terms; its purpose is to be further away than phase two.

The white paper should mention frictionless transactions immediately before a twelve-step explanation of how to purchase a muffin. Include a diagram with several arrows. Each arrow represents confidence.

Bring your staff on the journey

Baristas already remember milk preferences, operate expensive machinery and remain polite before nine in the morning. Explaining wallet recovery to a man whose phone is at two per cent will be a natural extension of the role.

When the system goes down, accept cash. Call this your hybrid resilience strategy. When it stays down, call it a return to your community roots. The important thing is that the launch attracted attention, and attention is almost as useful as customers.