Probably, everyone knows by now that cryptocurrency value has been on the rise lately. With several celebrities recently coming out as Bitcoin billionaires, including Winklevoss twins, and governments actively approving and licensing cryptocurrency at all levels, it’s adamantly clear: digital money is now worth more than the traditional money we’re used to. However, while traders and investors keep making more and more revenue on digital currency, one of the main hesitations some of us might still have is how to actually spend it. Let’s look at some real-life uses.
1. Real estate
With the increasing value of crypto, a lot of real estate agencies and private sellers prefer it to traditional cash. There is also a wide array of real estate platforms, including Propy.com, which offer real estate available for purchase exclusively in crypto. Some of the most notable recent purchases made using digital currency are three acres of land in Paradise Bay and a lavish mansion in Las Vegas.
2. Education
With universities taking a lead in crypto adoption, there are more and more options out there for those who want to pay in crypto. Shortly after The University of Nicosia in Cyprus announced itself as the first accredited university to accept crypto payments, it was joined by a number of universities, colleges and schools across the globe, including the USA, Switzerland and Germany, which also accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment.
3. Food
One of the first major U.S. chains to accept crypto is Subway. If you’re in Canada, feel free to pay in your coins at Shakes and Lattes, one of the major Canadian fast food restaurant chains. Additionally, you can order pizza at Pizzaforcoins, where over 50 different types of cryptocurrency are currently accepted.
4. Travel
One of the leading travel platforms, Cheapair.com, is another way to spend your crypto wisely. Starting from May 2018, you can pay in Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Dash for your flight and hotel bookings.
5. Clothes, furniture, jewelry… Everything!
Overstock, one of the major U.S. online retailers that’s selling everything – from furniture and clothes to home improvement goods and jewelry – lets you do it all in crypto. They were one of the first major online stores that announced cryptocurrency as an acceptable form of payment, and now a lot of other retailers are following its path.
However, the crypto spend doesn’t stop at the so-called ‘necessities.’ The company called Coins 4 Clothes is taking cryptocurrency to another level. Established in February 2017, they’ve started accepting Bitcoins to purchase clothing from warehouse retailers, in order to then distribute it through Toronto-based charity organizations. With a lot of corruption in cash-based donations, more and more charity givers and philanthropists turn to digital currency for its transparency.
Italian Serie C football club Rimini FC 1912 has become the first sports team in history to be purchased in cryptocurrency. According to the blockchain company Quantocoin, which now owns 25% of the football club, they’re planning to acquire more in the sports industry in the nearest future, using crypto. According to Pablo Dana, a partner at Quantocoin, cryptocurrency provides a unique opportunity to fight corruption in the sports industry, which has been recently rocked by a number of high-profile scandals involving cash.
So whether you’re shopping online using Bitcoins, or paying with crypto for goods and services, there’s an array of options where and how to spend it. Just be careful with how much Bitcoins you use for purchases, considering its constantly increasing value.
Remember that 83-million-dollar pizza?
May 22nd is considered one of the widely celebrated holidays in crypto community, which is also known as a celebration of one of the worst financial decisions ever made. Back in 2010, a software programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz wanted to test Bitcoin’s usability. Considering the fact that cryptocurrency had little traction at the time, he had to make his proposition attractive enough, and posted an announcement that he would pay 10,000 Bitcoins for two large pizzas.
He didn’t even care what types of pizzas those were – he just needed someone to take on a challenge. Eventually, someone from the UK came forward with two pizzas from Papa John’s that cost $25. Hanyecz paid $40 for them in Bitcoin. Later on, explaining his decision, he mentioned that he wasn’t sure whether or not Bitcoin would ever be big, he just wanted to test the transaction, and so he did it. Well, now those pizzas would be worth $83 million!
According to Hanyecz, he doesn’t regret his decision. As soon as Bitcoin’s value reached $1, he sold his remaining Bitcoins for about $4,000 cash, which was enough for a new computer and a couple of video cards. “I’d say I ended up on top,” said Hanyecz. Well, most people would disagree.
Happy crypto shopping!
Post written by Darya
Darya is a blockchain market observer with 5+ years of experience as an author and editor for major tech blogging platforms. Her fortes are blockchain technologies and solutions, cryptocurrencies and crypto-related regulations.
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