What Can You Buy with Bitcoin?

von Satoshi Nakamoto

Last updated: 22th July 2018


After an initial flurry of interest among merchants in accepting bitcoin in their retail or online stores, interest has largely died down as increasing bitcoin transaction fees and volatile price movements made it less attractive as a means of exchange

That doesn't mean that there are no outlets to spend your bitcoin, however, far from it. It's just that bitcoin volumes at these outlets has generally not met expectations, and by the time you read this, some may have discontinued that option.

At time of writing, however, you can still buy a wide range of goods and services with the cryptocurrency. Among the advantages of doing so are the ease of cross-border transactions, and anonymity (unless you want physical delivery, of course). By accepting bitcoin, merchants get access to a broader market, and don't have to worry so much about chargebacks (where the buyers cancels the payment after receiving the product).

If you want to use bitcoin to buy presents, the most obvious solution is gift cards, via Gyft or eGifter. The recipient will then be able to spend the gift card at one of a wide range of retailers.

You can pay for flights and hotels with bitcoin, through Expedia, CheapAir and Surf Air. If your ambitions are loftier, you can pay for space travel with some of your vast holdings, through Virgin Galactic.

Microsoft accepts bitcoin in its app stores, where you can download movies, games and app-based services.

Some musicians (Bjork, Imogen Heep) will let you download their music in exchange for cryptocurrency.

Need to furnish your house or buy a special present for someone? Overstock was one of the first big retailers to start accepting bitcoin, back in 2014, and its founder – Patrick Byrne – is still one of the technology's most active proponents.

Fancy some gold? Sharps Pixley, APMEX and JM Bullion will take bitcoin off your hands in exchange for bullion.

And if you're hungry and live in the US, PizzaforCoins will get a pizza delivered to your door (depending on where you live) in exchange for bitcoin.

If it's knowledge you're hungry for, several private and public universities as well as a couple of New York preschools accept bitcoin.

Some legal and accounting firms also accept payment for their services in the cryptocurrency.

Of course, you could always buy yourself some happiness by donating to one of the bitcoin-accepting charities or crowdfunding sites, such as BitHope, BitGive or Fidelity Charitable.

For a list of offline stores near you that accept bitcoin, check an aggregator such as SpendBitcoins or CoinMap.

(Note: specific businesses mentioned here are not the only options available, and should not be taken as a recommendation.)

Authored by Noelle Acheson. Source coindesk

 

INDEX: A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO BITCOIN AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY



What is Bitcoin?
It's a decentralized digital currency


Why Use Bitcoin?
It's fast, cheap to use, and secure


How Can I Buy Bitcoin?
From an exchange or an individual


How to Buy Bitcoin in the UK
Buying bitcoin in the UK


How to Store Your Bitcoin
Use a digital or paper wallet


What Can You Buy with Bitcoin?
Spend your bitcoins


How to Sell Bitcoin
A guide on how to sell your bitcoins


How to Accept Bitcoin Payments for Your Store
Learn about bitcoin POS systems


How do Bitcoin Transactions Work?
Bitcoin addresses and private keys


Is Bitcoin Legal?
The current regulation around bitcoin


Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
The founder of bitcoin


How Bitcoin Mining Works
By confirming transactions


How to Set Up a Bitcoin Miner
Generate bitcoins yourself


What are Bitcoin Mining Pools?
What are pools how and how to join them?


How Does Cloud Mining Bitcoin Work?
Alternative bitcoin mining solutions


How to Calculate Mining Profitability
Can you make a ROI?


How to Make a Paper Bitcoin Wallet
Creating an unhackable bitcoin wallet


Can Bitcoin Scale?
A look at the debate and the tech


What is SegWit?
A new way of storing transaction data


What is the Lightning Network?
Off-chain transaction channels


What is Bitcoin Cash?
Same blockchain, different characteristics.


Hard Fork vs Soft Fork
Why and how do blockchains split?


What is the Difference Between Litecoin and Bitcoin?
It's the silver to bitcoin's gold


How to Buy Litecoin
How to buy the bitcoin alternative litecoin


How to Mine Litecoin and other Altcoins
How to generate your own altcoins


Understanding Bitcoin Price Charts
A primer on bitcoin price charts


Bitcoin E-Commerce Services for Merchants
How to accept bitcoin at your business


What is Blockchain Technology?
A system of distributed data and logic


How Does Blockchain Technology Work?
Cryptographic keys, distributed networks and network servicing protocols


What Can a Blockchain Do?
Identity, recordkeeping, smart contracts and more


What is a Distributed Ledger?
A dynamic, independently maintained database


What is the Difference Between Public and Permissioned Blockchains?
Can anyone read or write to the ledger?


What is the Difference Between a Blockchain and a Database?
It begins with architectural and administrative decisions


What Are the Applications and Use Cases of Blockchains?
Tokenization, auditing, governance, settlement and more


How Could Blockchain Technology Change Finance?
Cross-border payments, new asset classes, regulatory compliance and more


What are Blockchain's Issues and Limitations?
Complexity, size, costs, speed, security, politics and more


Why Use a Blockchain?
To manage and secure digital relationships as part of a system of record


What is Ethereum?
A blockchain application platform and 'world computer'


What is Ether?
The 'fuel' of the ethereum network


How to Use Ethereum
Wallets, trading and ‘dapps’


Who Created Ethereum?
Vitalik Buterin


How Ethereum Mining Works
'Proof of Work' and 'Proof of Stake'


How to Mine Ethereum
GPUs, mining software and pools


How Ethereum Works
'Turing-complete' programming, 'state' and the 'EVM'


What is a Decentralized Application?
A distributed 'smart contract' system


What is a DAO?
A 'decentralized autonomous organization'


How Do Ethereum Smart Contracts Work?
Code, transaction fees and 'gas'


How Will Ethereum Scale?
‘Sharding’ and ‘off-chain’ transactions


What is an ICO?
Initial Coin Offerings refer to the distribution of digital tokens.

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