
“Having the latest technology can help a small company stand out against the competition. And that is perhaps the biggest reason Bitcoin, a nascent system using virtual currency to make payments online, has drawn a strong following among small-business owners. It is unclear if business transactions were part of the original vision for Bitcoin, which was started in 2009 and isn’t backed by a central bank. BitPay Inc., an Atlanta firm that processes Bitcoin payments, says it has signed up more than 8,000 merchants world-wide—all small companies—since it formed in May 2011.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323300004578559941389131384.html