Hail to the Hive!

A while back I posted about how being on the Hive Blockchain was a key part of our nomadic narrowboat project as we were managing to primarily pay for goods, services, diesel, food etc with crypto ( mostly earned on hive). 13 months in and although it has been a financial squeeze at times it is working and we are finding our way. It’s kind of liberating in many ways.

It can be kind of patchy extracting funds to be able to use as we are still in an age where your average marina or supermarket doesn’t accept crypto payments (yet). So using blocktrades to convert to another crypto and then selling that crypto and then transferring fiat currency to bank account was the way to be able to physically use the crypto earned for everday use. Which was all fine but a little long winded.

Until today!

Today, for the first time, I used my coinbase card to buy diesel and this eliminated half of the links in the old chain to accomplish a transaction at point of sale. I have to say I was a little excited about it. I chose to use a familiar place for my virgin cryptocard transaction. A wharf where I buy diesel and other boaty stuff from when passing by.

I needed some diesel for Badger the Narrowboat and with Kilworth Wharf being only 20 mins by car ( 7 hours by narrowboat ) my mate gave me a lift in his van with my jerry can.

And of course my brand new coinbase card 😁.

It’s pretty straightforward, you select on the coinbase card app the crypto you want to be your chosen crypto coin for transactions. Be sure you have required balance and then use as you would any regular debit card. There is a small percentage liquidation fee.

I actually held my breath after I put my pin in and waited for the transaction to go through.

And boom, transaction successful. My very first crypto debit card transaction. So now I no longer need to sell and transfer crypto before using it for our everyday items like food, beer, diesel, cooking gas. This may seem like a small thing but it will completely revolutionize the way I manage my finances from thus point on.

I just need a lot more crypto to be able to make my next boat purchase in this manner!

Wouldn’t that be something 😄.

John said this was the first crypto transaction they’d ever had at the wharf. I told him don’t fret it won’t be the last…..I’ll be back next week 😉. He was genuinely please about it, almost as much as I was.

I had to share this today because it made me so happy 😀.

Does anyone else use a similar card for regular crypto payments?