One of the most important requirements for a currency is the ability to spend it, and Bitcoin is no different in this regard. There are many ways you can acquire Bitcoin, from buying to mining, but spending it can be a bit more challenging.
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Where to spend Crypto
This article aims to give you a better understanding of how and where you can spend Bitcoin. We will provide an overview of some of the major companies that accept Bitcoin as a payment option; We will also discuss the limitations and fees involved so you don’t end up caught off guard.
Don’t worry if you’re not interested in using your Bitcoin to buy items from these major companies, we also cover different use cases ranging from trading Bitcoin to other activities or donating it to charities.
Major companies that accept Bitcoin
There are many companies that accept Bitcoin for online purchases, including some of the largest companies in the world. Most of these large companies do not accept Bitcoin directly but accept payment through a processor such as BitPay or Coinbase. Payment processors charge a small fee, usually around 1%, and convert Bitcoin into the merchant’s preferred currency. Some merchants may pass these fees on to the customer, although they would likely go unnoticed since the fees are lower than they would be with traditional payment methods such as credit cards.
Overstock
With over a billion dollars in annual revenue, Overstock is one of the largest online retailers in the world. In 2014, Overstock became the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin as a payment option, using Coinbase as its payment processor. Much of what Overstock offers is furniture and home décor, but they also sell everything from electronics to clothing to outdoor sporting goods. Bitcoin payments are currently available on the desktop website Overstock.com but are not accepted on the mobile website or Overstock.ca at the time this article was written.
Newegg
Another of the world’s largest online retailers, Newegg, has been accepting Bitcoin via BitPay on their online store since 2014. Newegg sells a wide range of items, but they are primarily known for their selection of computers and computer components. Whether you’re looking for a computer for work or play, or if you want to build one from scratch, Newegg offers a wide range of options that can be purchased with Bitcoin. However, items available for sale on Newegg’s marketplace cannot be purchased using Bitcoin: this option is only available for items sold directly by Newegg.
AT&T
AT&T, the world’s largest telecommunications company, began using BitPay payment processor in May 2019 to accept Bitcoin payments for online bills. This allows AT&T customers to pay mobile, internet and TV bills using Bitcoin.
Flexa
Although unconfirmed, Forbes reported in May 2019 that a payments startup called Flexa was testing an app that would allow many partner companies to accept Bitcoin as a payment option. Some of these companies include Starbucks, Nordstrom, and Whole Foods. Spedn, Flexa’s first app, generates a QR code on the customer’s phone, which is then scanned by the merchant to debit the customer’s Spedn account. As with other Bitcoin payment processors, merchants using Spedn do not receive actual Bitcoins – the Bitcoin is converted into the local currency for a small fee and given to the merchant.
Companies that previously accepted Bitcoin
Following the massive attention Bitcoin received in early 2018, Microsoft began allowing users to deposit funds into their Microsoft accounts using Bitcoin. Since then, it seems that Microsoft has removed this option, likely due to declining mainstream attention and high Bitcoin price volatility.
Another big company that previously accepted Bitcoin was Expedia, the online travel shopping giant. Expedia stopped accepting Bitcoin in mid-2018, likely for the same reasons suggested above for Microsoft.
These examples show that some of the world’s largest companies have the knowledge and ability to accept Bitcoin when consumer demand is present, meaning they may start accepting it again in the future.
Microsoft and Expedia have abandoned their Bitcoin payments and show us that other companies that currently accept Bitcoin may not always accept it. Keep this in mind when shopping at the companies described in this article, as they may stop accepting Bitcoin at any time.
Other uses to spend Bitcoin
It’s great that major companies are starting to accept Bitcoin payments, but what other ways can we spend Bitcoin? Because Bitcoin significantly reduces the barriers to entry for ecommerce and online payments, there are many small businesses and charities that accept Bitcoin.
Purchase of gift cards
There are services around the world that offer local gift cards in exchange for Bitcoin. These gift cards include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, and much more. You can even use your Bitcoins to buy Amazon gift cards, where you can buy almost anything! CoinCards.com and BitRefill.com are two of the most popular options for buying gift cards with Bitcoin. Both companies also sell top-ups for prepaid mobile plans.
Trading for other cryptocurrencies
Arguably, the most common use case for spending Bitcoin is to exchange it for other cryptocurrencies. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies listed on online cryptocurrency exchanges, and most of them can be bought or sold for Bitcoin. Two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges are Coinbase and Binance. Remember, when you store your Bitcoins on an exchange you no longer have possession of the coins and are at risk if the exchange were to be hacked. Most crypto experts recommend a personal digital wallet.
Gold and silver are also commonly purchased with Bitcoin. An example of a company that accepts Bitcoin for gold and silver is goldsilver.com, which sells precious metals such as bars and coins. Goldsilver.com also offers a 3% discount for users who buy with Bitcoin, since it is one of the most convenient payment options.
Services
Bitcoin is a
digital currency native to the internet, so it makes sense that it is used to pay for native internet services such as domain name registration. Namecheap.com is a company that accepts Bitcoin as payment for domain name registration. Namecheap was one of the first online service providers to accept Bitcoin, accepting it back in 2013.
TravelByBit.com is an online service that allows users to book hotels and flights using Bitcoin. Similar to travel shopping sites like Expedia, TravelByBit provides a search engine to find hotels and flights and allows you to book through their website.
Beneficence
Many charities accept Bitcoin because it is easy to post a Bitcoin address on a website and receive donations without additional costs or work done by the charity. Pseudonymous donations can easily be made, meaning the recipient would not know who you are and would see the donation coming from a Bitcoin address rather than your identity.
The Wikimedia Foundation (the organization that hosts Wikipedia) and the Internet Archive (which maintains an archive of digitized materials including hundreds of billions of web pages) are two examples of well-known nonprofits that accept Bitcoin donations.
