Where to Spend Your Bitcoin
As the years pass on, it is becoming increasingly important to hold bitcoin. From inflation to growing distrust of government, it’s making more sense to hold alternative currencies. While bitcoin is seen more as a store of value these days, using bitcoin as a p2p (peer-to-peer) electronic cash system was how it was originally intended, according to the Bitcoin white paper.
Following El Salvador, The Central African Republic became the second country to adopt bitcoin as its official currency. This is huge news for the crypto community. No matter the current state of the crypto market, it still makes sense to spend bitcoin.
For the average person, you may be wondering how and where to spend your bitcoin. This guide is for you. Read our guide below to learn everything you need to know.
How to Spend Bitcoin
To spend bitcoin, you’ll first need to acquire bitcoin. How do you do that, though? You’ll need a bitcoin wallet first and foremost.
Bitcoin and crypto wallets come in 2 main ways—hot and cold.
Hot Wallet
A hot wallet is connected to the internet. To get a hot wallet, you simply download it to your mobile device or computer. While they are more convenient, they are also more vulnerable.
There are also crypto debit cards that can be topped up via a hot wallet/app.
More and more retailers are starting to accept crypto and bitcoin as payment. When you purchase an item, it is considered a sell by being converted to fiat for the retailer. This is a great way to spend bitcoin and crypto on the go, as these cards are often partnered with Visa and Mastercard.
Cold Wallet
A cold wallet is completely offline and is considered more secure as a result. Cold wallets are often also referred to as hardware wallets.
With bitcoin comes great responsibility. Whether you use a hot or cold wallet, it’s essential to secure your private keys. Anyone who has access to your private keys has access to your bitcoin and can spend bitcoin as payment.
While it may take some time to get your head around, your crypto isn’t stored in your wallet. You access them through your private keys. Your public key acts like an e-mail address as you share it when you wish to receive crypto.
Remember the mantra—not your keys, not your bitcoin.
Once you have a bitcoin wallet, there are many ways you can acquire bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. You can mine them, earn them (content creation, freelance, etc.), purchase some on an exchange, etc.
Buy Gift Cards
If you’re looking for where to spend your bitcoin but keep running in circles, we have a solution for you. Gift cards present an easy workaround for retailers (whether online or brick-and-mortar) who haven’t yet adopted Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain technology.
Places like Bitrefill, Gyft, and CoinCards all allow you to purchase gift cards to many of the popular shops you know and love—Amazon, eBay, Target, Walmart, Spotify, CVS, etc.
The process is simple too, and you’ll often be rewarded on top of your purchase for spending crypto. From your wallet, just send some bitcoin for purchase by copying and pasting the public address or scanning the QR code. In a matter of seconds, you’ll have a gift card in your possession.
Aside from spending bitcoin, you can use popular cryptos that are akin to cash like bitcoin cash, dash, dogecoin, and litecoin.
Buying gift cards during a bear market is a great way to lock in your funds. This way, you won’t lose any more value.
Crypto Debit Cards
Another solution is to use crypto debit cards. They work the same way as traditional debit cards. Many of them are even partnered with Visa and Mastercard.
The way they work is instead of using fiat for your purchases; you’ll be using a cryptocurrency like bitcoin. Your card will be linked with an app so that you’ll be able to stay on top of things from the dashboard. From the dashboard, you can top up your card with the cryptocurrency of your choosing.
At the time of purchase, your card will quickly convert the crypto back into fiat. The process is the same as selling your crypto for fiat.
Popular crypto debit cards include Coinbase, Nexo, and Crypto.com. To incentivize you even further, they will come with many perks like cashback, discounts, etc.
Bitcoin as Payment
Using bitcoin as payment is simple. In most scenarios, you’ll point your phone to scan a QR code from the merchant’s PoS (point-of-sale) app. You’ll just need to find where to spend your bitcoin first.
The good news is that many retailers, whether in person or online, are starting to accept bitcoin as payment. Odds are if they accept bitcoin, they’ll often accept popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash, ether, dash, dogecoin, and litecoin too.
We have a workaround if you have someplace in mind that you’d like to spend your bitcoin or crypto, but they don’t accept it yet. Gift card services present a unique way to spend your bitcoin at many merchants.
The way it works is simple, find a supported store with CoinCards or Bitrefill. Purchase the gift card with bitcoin, and you are good to go. You can even pay your bills with bitcoin this way too!
Why Spend Bitcoin?
Before we answer the question, “where can you spend bitcoin?” let’s first uncover the why. Why would you want to spend bitcoin and crypto in the first place? It turns out there are many advantages over fiat.
For one, it is a hedge against inflation. The purchasing power of the dollar has diminished due to the Federal Reserve printing money. Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million, making it a deflationary currency as opposed to an inflationary one that the U.S. dollar is.
Crypto people see the value in security and complete financial control. Aside from this, there are practical reasons you’d want to use crypto and bitcoin as payment. What makes Bitcoin and crypto so beautiful is that you don’t need anyone’s permission (third parties such as banks, remittance providers, etc.) to start using it.
You can transfer as much or as little as you’d like to.
Transactions are much faster too. Rather than taking hours or days, your bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions will finalize within seconds or minutes. This means sending money to friends and family anywhere in the world at a fraction of the cost.
When they receive the money, they can then decide how and where to spend your bitcoin. Depending on where they are, they can hold the bitcoin and use it as legal tender or exchange it for their fiat currency.
This is a huge money saver for remittances, especially when dealing with fees, complications, foreign exchange rates, and third-party involvement.
As trust in government wanes, it is becoming more and more important to hold bitcoin so that you’ll have money that is truly yours.
Where to Spend Your Bitcoin
If you’re looking for places where to spend your bitcoin 1:1 directly, there are plenty of places to do so. This is the most elegant solution there is. Let’s take a look a look at some of the more popular choices below.
Online Stores
Who accepts bitcoin online? Being that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are digital, it is the perfect marriage of where to spend them. Places like Overstock, Newegg, Shopify, and Microsoft accept BTC.
Service Providers
Would you like to use bitcoin as payment for your phone bill, VPN, e-mail, or domain? Now you can! Places like AT&T, NordVPN, WordPress, Namecheap, Reddit, and ProtonMail all accept bitcoin payments.
Video Games
If you’re a gamer, you’ll be pleased to know that you can buy video games with bitcoin. Popular choices include Xbox, Humble Bundle, and Big Fish Games.
Food
You don’t have to go hungry with bitcoin as your currency ever again. When you’re out and about and wondering where bitcoin is accepted—try Subway, Burger King, and Whole Foods for starters.
Travel
If the travel bug has bitten you and you’d like to spend your bits, we’ve got your back. Travel agencies and services attract new customers by offering discounts and deals when spending bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Look to places like Expedia, AirBaltic, and Virgin Galatic to see how far your bitcoin can take you!
Non-profits
What about donating your bitcoin? Now you can! Head to Wikimedia, Wikileaks, and The Giving Block to do so.
Sportsbooks
Did you know that you can bet on sports using bitcoin as payment? It’s easy to do so and offers a ton of edge over the competition.
Head to https://www.bookmakersreview.com/best-sportsbooks/bitcoin/ to learn more.
Stack and Spend Sats
If you’ve been in the crypto space for some time now, you’ve heard the expression “stack sats.” Sats is short for satoshi, which is the smallest denomination of a bitcoin (100 millionth of a bitcoin). As you stack sats, you’ll also want to spend them.
With our guide, you now know where to spend your bitcoin. Whether you use a workaround or directly, you’ll love the purchasing power that bitcoin provides.
As you continue your crypto journey, you’ll see there is much to learn. To stay on top of news, trends, and how-tos with bitcoin and crypto, be sure to browse our blog.
