Ive got a pet shop and I wanted to accept bitcoin and alt coins then I was reading about becoming a bitcoin exchange ... is this possible? I understand its worth goes up and down.
First check whether the usage of cryptocurrency as a payment is allowed in your country. If there are no legal issues, then you can accept Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency as a payment - either directly, or using a payment processor (such as Bitpay or BIPS). I would advise you to go for a payment processor. Because it will immediately convert your crypto to fiat currency, and you no longer have to worry about the volatility (BTC can go up or down by as much as 10% in a single day, and this is a major issue while accepting payments with crypto).