Back in 2008 if you told someone that you had ten Bitcoins, they would immediately ask you “What is Bitcoin?” and they would likely sit there slack-jawed as you explained that Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that is created by validating transactions on something called the blockchain.
Informing someone that you own ten Bitcoin today might surprise them, not due to unawareness, but because ten Bitcoins are now valued at over a quarter of a million dollars.
And today, there’s a lot more that you buy with Bitcoin, compared to a few years ago when the most your digital assets could get you was some crypto merchandise. To be fair, some of those little plush Bitcoin characters were pretty cute. And I’m sure there’s at least one crypto enthusiast out there with a Mr. Bitcoin costume in their closet.
Luckily for you, more and more companies accept Bitcoin payments now, and there are many more places you can spend Bitcoin online or in the real world.
The Basics of Spending Bitcoin
So first, you obviously need a crypto wallet. These are separated into hot and cold wallets – and the only distinction between these two is their ability to connect to the internet. Hot wallets are connected, and cold wallets aren’t.
The Different Types of Wallets
Of course, you would assume that cold wallets are much more secure than their online or connected counterparts. Buy the technology and security that secures them have significantly improved.
A hardware crypto wallet look like a small thumb drive and manage your public address and keys and features a small screen.
Paper wallets are physical printouts of your public address and keys as text or a QR code on a piece of paper.
A desktop wallet is a piece of software installed on your computer.
Mobile wallets are apps installed on your mobile device.
Web wallets are online and have been known to be more easily comprised; of course, the technology is constantly being optimised for security.
To add to this plethora of options, some services connect your digital wallet to a debit card, or there are prepaid cards that you can send funds to from your address.
There is yet another type of crypto debit card which you load with Bitcoin, but payments are exchanged to FIAT money, allowing your Bitcoin to be widely accepted as a payment method anywhere that accepts MasterCard or equivalent cards.
Many companies are now working with crypto payment processors to offer cryptocurrencies as a payment option even though they do not accept Bitcoin or other cryptos directly.
They usually convert the users’ cryptos to a conventional currency, which they then pay the company with.
Some can even connect to your non-crypto bank account, allowing you to withdraw cash by converting it to your local currency first.
As the demand for crypto payment increases, there will inevitably be more innovative solutions that allow Bitcoin transactions.
But how do you actually spend your hard-earned Bitcoin? Most retailers that accept Bitcoin payments have their own addresses which you can send money to.
Some retailers or services make bitcoin payments even easier for their clients by offering a QR which customers scan to send the payment.
But what can you buy with Bitcoins? Keep reading to find out.
Legal Considerations When Spending Bitcoin
As long as you purchase goods which are legal and Bitcoin payments are allowed within your jurisdiction, there are no legal considerations when spending Bitcoin.
Although crypto payments have become more mainstream in recent years, it’s always a good idea to check with local laws.
We will tell you where to spend crypto, but you probably shouldn’t be taking legal advice from us.
Online Retailers Accepting Bitcoin
There are numerous websites, online stores, retailers and service providers that facilitate crypto based purchases, and that list is growing daily. After the extensive media coverage of the multiple, historically unprecedented rallies, crypto adoption has skyrocketed.
According to CNBC, referencing a survey performed by Deloitte, 75% of retailers expressed their intention to accept crypto payments in the next two years.
The same survey shows that 83% of companies asked, acknowledged the public’s interest in digital currency payments and a little more than fifty per cent of those asked have already invested over one million dollars to enable payments with digital assets.
Now, let’s take a look at which companies are currently accepting Bitcoin payments.
E-commerce Websites
One of the biggest companies that currently accepts Bitcoin is Microsoft, knowing that most gamers shop online and many have Bitcoin. Gamers can purchase Xbox gaming platform credits with Bitcoin, which they can use to buy games, accessories and consoles.
PayPal also added crypto options to its services but has not yet integrated them as a payment method. But you can purchase, sell and hold specific cryptocurrencies in their Cash Plus or Cash accounts.
Amazon allows the purchase of vouchers through Bitrefill, which can be used to purchase goods on one of the world’s biggest e-commerce websites.
GoG is another one of the online stores for gaming that allows direct Bitcoin purchases. All you have to do is add Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as a payment option and use it on the checkout page.
Digital Services
Microsoft further supports crypto payments for Skype services.
Numerous web hosting services accept Bitcoin payments, including Hostinger, Cherry Servers, Evolution Host, Hostsailor, Host1plus, THCServers and Hosting.co.uk to mention a few.
Food and Beverage Outlets
Surprisingly, the food and beverage industry is one of the most enthusiastic adopters of cryptocurrencies.
From coffee to burgers and fried chicken, have at various points and locations allowed crypto users to munch on their favourite meals in exchange for digital currencies.
Cafes and Restaurants
Starbucks has started testing crypto payments through the Bakkt app in various locations worldwide.
Fast Food Restaurants Accepting Cryptos
In Venezuela, both Burger King and Pizza Hut allow you to buy with bitcoin, so you can satisfy that craving for a cheeseburger and pepperoni pineapple pizza. Don’t knock until you’ve tried it.
For a limited time, KFC was accepting bitcoin payments for its “Bitcoin Bucket” which was just a normal bucket of fried chicken that was Bitcoin themed on the outside.
Amatil, the biggest Asian-Pacific Coco-Cola distributor, announced that it enabled its vending machines to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Shortly after the announcement, there were over two thousand vending machines around Oceania that accepted Bitcoin for a carbonated drink.
Food Delivery Services
One of the biggest delivery services in Europe, the Amsterdam-based Takeaway.com, allows you to buy with Bitcoin in select locations.
It seems that Europe is more open to food for crypto payments as German Lieferando and Polish Pyszne.pl are both accepting Bitcoin.
Travel and Accommodation
There are numerous airlines and hotel chains that allow you to purchase online directly with your Bitcoin.
There is even a crypto-friendly online platform, Travala, that lets you book your travel and accommodations and pay for them with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies!
Airlines
The most notable among them is LOT Polish Airlines, which accepts Bitcoin, is a Star Alliance member, serving 81 international destinations across 48 countries. It also offers hotels, car rentals, activities, and more to purchase with your digital assets.
Although a bit smaller, airBaltic is another airline accepting crypto. In fact, it might’ve been the first as it started accepting Bitcoin for flights as far back as 2014, a year before LOT, and has processed over one thousand transactions to date. Based in Latvia, the airline flies to over seventy destinations across mainland Europe, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe.
Hotels
A noteworthy company that lets you spend crypto in the lap of luxury in exotic locations across the globe is Hong Kong based Pavilion Hotels & Resorts. It in fact was one of the first hotel chains to begin accepting Bitcoin as a payment method. They accept various digital currency types, a staggering forty in total.
Luxury Items
If you want to spend Bitcoin on a bit more of a splurge, then take a look at the luxury watch market, which, to be fair is kind of it’s own speculative market at this point. Many luxury items increase in value over time, so if you Hodl your cryptos, you might consider hodl-ing a few Rolexes, Cartiers or vintage Givenchy gowns.
Even sportscar and hypercar producers have begun accepting Bitcoin payment. Keep reading to find out how to spend crypto….quickly.
Additionally, when you buy with Bitcoin, you can get low transaction fees compared to other payment methods and less compliance complications. Large transactions made with FIAT currency i.e. traditional currencies are often flagged by banks to validate the source of funds and identity, which can slow down the process.
Cars
Although Elon Musk is akin to a cat trying to decide if it wants to go outside when it comes to accepting digital currencies, promising to accept Bitcoin payments for Teslas and then backtracking and then accepting BTC payments again so his fan club can buy Tesla…merchandise.
After allowing Tesla adherents to buy with Bitcoin for a very limited time, he once again backtracked, saying he was worried about the amount of fossil fuels needed to mine them.
But don’t worry, there are numerous luxury car dealers which will happily accept direct crypto payments. Some of these dealers even sell more pedestrian people movers if you want to be more incognito.
Although we’ll talk about it a bit later BitDial has an entire website – the creatively named BitCars – dedicated to cars that you can buy with cryptos, but they are not your run-to-the-supermarket type of vehicles.
You can get everything from Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport for the princely sum of Ƀ254.601000 (or $6,763,030.01), or if you are looking for something with a bit more class, a BMW 503 Coupé, made for only three years between 1956-1959, is available for a more reasonable Ƀ10.534000 ($279,841.50).
If you are looking for something for school runs and errands, you can do them much faster with a 444 horsepower turbo-charged all-wheel drive Audi S7 Sportback for just Ƀ6.125100 (or 162,716.65 in Crude Oil vouchers – that’s USD if you didn’t get the joke).
Jewelry
If you want to spend Bitcoin directly while saving on the transaction fees associated with large purchases in FIAT currencies, you might want to spend Bitcoin to purchase jewellery.
One of the biggest online retailers, BitDials, which could even considered a crypto emporium, offers Rolexes, Patek Philippe and other exclusive bedazzled wrist weights that you can buy with Bitcoin.
But those aren’t the only luxury items you can purchase from BitDials, which has been in operation since 2016. It also offers gold, spirits, cars, leather bags, stunning and exclusive writing instruments, belts, canvas bags and accessories.
Their spirit selection is especially noteworthy as it offers exclusive and rare luxurious libations like Remy Martin LOUIS XIII Cognac, for just Ƀ0.175680, a Macallan 1946 Select Reserve 52 Year Old for the low price of Ƀ1.586688 and extremely exclusive Ardbeg – Islay Single Malt + 5cl Miniature – 1965 39 year old for the bargain basement sum of Ƀ1.283573.
I’ll do the math for you in FIAT currency – that’s $4,684.80 for the Remy Martin LOUIS XIII Cognac, $42,311.68 for the Macallan 1946 Select Reserve 52 Year Old and $34,228.61 for the Ardbeg – Islay Single Malt + 5cl Miniature – 1965 39. MINIATURE!!!
But you’ve had a rough week; why not treat yourself a bit?
On BitDials’ car website BitCars, why not get yourself a Honda?
I mean a Honda Ligier model JS51, a custom-built race car, that is FIA-approved, so you can participate in any official FIA event, including the 24-hour Le Mans event.
You know, if you are looking for something to do on a Sunday.
Unfortunately, the Ligier model JS51’s price is only available on request. And I’m going to assume it’s so expensive that you must undergo a full battery of medical tests to ensure your heart can take it.
The added benefit of snatching up a limited-edition item with Bitcoin is that the secondary market for them is huge and very lucrative.
So you’ll be spending money that will eventually likely make you a lot more money!
Everyday Essentials
So, from the very exciting world of five-figure bottles of luxury spirits and race cars so expensive that you can buy with Bitcoin to the extremely pedantic items of personal hygiene.
Sure, bathroom roll and toothpaste are really boring, but life on the crypto market isn’t all glitter and glam. No matter how many Bitcoins you have, you still need to eat and smell nice. Well, the smell nice part is optional.
It’s more for other people than you.
Supermarkets
Of course, even the shrewdest cryptocurrency investor has everyday needs. Shampoo, soap, deodorant, and maybe some snacks as they watch the markets like a hawk.
If you are looking to get your everyday essentials delivered to your door, then these supermarkets have you covered.
Luckily, there are a few supermarkets that have a cryptocurrency payment option. Most accept cryptos through payment processors or via a cryptocurrency debit card or crypto credit cards.
Whole Foods Market, is one of the most noteworthy and biggest supermarket chains that has been accepting crypto since 2009.
Another substantial chain of supermarkets that accepts Bitcoin for groceries that’s on the other side of the Pacific but has a geographically confusing name – is U.S.A. Foods in Australia.
If you are wondering about the name, the reason why a grocery chain in Australia is named U.S.A. Foods it’s because the founders were from the U.S. and apparently patriotic enough to name their sandwich shop that became a grocery store U.S.A Foods, but not patriotic enough to stay in the U.S….go figure.
Not only does it accept Bitcoin, but it also has a great article talking about the virtues of digital currency and even features an e commerce platform, so you can get your groceries and everyday essentials online!
If you happen to find yourself on the Isle of Man for the world’s most dangerous race event, then you can visit the MannVend shop. Although it was founded in 1967, it has always been on the cutting edge of technology, introducing one of the first coffee vending machines in Europe.
Continuing this tradition of innovation (do those words even go together?) MannVend has been accepting Bitcoin since 2021 and even offers a delivery service all over the UK.
Gas Stations
So you have your luxury car or superbike you bought with Bitcoin, but those Lambos and Ducatis need gas too. Luckily, there are a few global petrol or gas stations that let you fill up with Bitcoin.
If you happen to find yourself on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and you see one of the forty-six Tifon fuelling stations, you can go ahead and fill up with Bitcoin.
An honourable mention here should go to the Cosmic Market in Greeley, Colorado, which was one of the first gas stations cum convenience stores in the world to take Bitcoin as a payment method. The owner of the filling station Shahzad Sarwar, started accepting Bitcoin as far back as 2014. To put that into context, Bitcoin was launched in 2008, so he’s as early an adopter as early adopters go. If he kept any of his 2014 Bitcoin payments, I am going to assume that Shahzad is retired somewhere in the Caribbean, but I can not cross-reference my assumption.
Financial Services
In recent years, we have seen a myriad of financial service providers that allow you to trade, invest, exchange or even let you spend Bitcoin to purchase real estate.
An added benefit is that credit card transactions can be very costly, which was the primary payment type that these companies accepted previously.
Real Estate
Like BitDials, or BitCars, but for unbelievably luxurious homes and properties, Crypto Real Estate has dozens of listings across the world that you can buy with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The company has listings in Portugal, Thailand, Mexico, Dubai, the UAE and even Europe. Although some of the properties come with a sub-37.63 Bitcoin (that’s sub-one million Democracy vouchers…again that USD if you didn’t get the joke, and that’s fair it wasn’t great) price tag, you can get not one, but two villas on France’s prestigious and beautiful Côte d’Azur for just ₿799.500 (or $17,316,337). The property is not only in a paradisial location, but the two villas are surrounded by a 2500 m² Mediterranean garden (which I’m not sure what that is, but if it has Mediterranean in front of it, I’m going to assume it’s fancy).
Not only is this complex a hop, skip and jump from Cannes, but it has amenities out the wazzoo including a spa, jacuzzi, gym and massage room (masseuse not included). It also has storage for your 5 or 6 supercars, that you definitely bought with Bitcoin, with an, get this, electronic turning platform.
It’s the perfect refuge for a James-Bond-eque villain who needs a bit of downtime. I’m not sure if the electrical system can handle automated machine gun turrets though.
If you are looking for an affordable little three-bedroom, then the Magnum Real Estate Group has something for you on Manhattan’s East Side.
Well it did, because it sold for the kingly sum of twenty-nine million U.S. dollars worth of Bitcoin. The company has integrated with BitPay, which is one of the many Bitcoin payment processors that allow purchases directly in crypto.
Stocks and Bonds
One of the stand-out brokers that allows direct deposit in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and gives you access to multiple markets, including Stock indices, Forex, Commodities and even other Cryptocurrencies (without the needing to exchange them) is PrimeXBT.
It even offers bonuses to new clients and has some of the lowest fees in the industry.
Entertainment and Leisure
So now that you’ve bought a hypercar, a luxury watch, an apartment on New York’s Upper East Side, and traded a bit – all with Bitcoin, you’ll probably want to kick back, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Well, you’re in luck because there are a lot of venues that accept BTC as a form of payment. Here are a few.
Casinos
You made it on the cryptocurrency market, so why not try your hand at…or should I say your poker face at the many casinos that accept BTC?
There is actually a huge list of dedicated Bitcoin casinos. One of the highest rated, BC.Game, enables users to spend bitcoins on the blackjack and poker table.
Maybe you are more of a sporty type, and you like to bet on athletic events. Perfect, because even sports betting giants like Sportsbet, Cloudbet and Stake accept crypto to put a wager on your favorite team or athlete.
Event Tickets
Hopefully, you made some money during your time sitting at the blackjack table or betting on your favourite football team. Maybe you want to take in something less competitive like a concert or a show.
Ticket Squeeze is a marketplace that sells over ten thousand tickets globally to concerts, theatre and sporting events you can buy with Bitcoin.
The process follows the same format as other online stores, i.e. you buy a voucher directly with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin or Dogecoin and then you use that to purchase tickets to the event you’d like to watch.
Donating with Bitcoin
Talk about charitable organizations that accept Bitcoin donations.
Conclusion
Wrap up the article by summarizing the various ways one can use Bitcoin today and what future developments in spending Bitcoin might look like. Encourage readers to explore these opportunities responsibly.
