Many people tend to think of cryptocurrencies as potentially lucrative investments. Yet, virtual currencies are also perfect for purchasing products. Of course, a question might ensue about businesses that accept cryptocurrency. While there are plenty of places that are happy to sell their goods and services to crypto investors, there are numerous ways one can buy stuff with digital assets, even from companies that have not embraced crypto payments. Essentially, today, you can get practically anything you want using crypto. From sports cars to luxury real estate, the world is your oyster as long as you have Bitcoin in your pocket.
Key Points
- Cryptocurrencies have several advantages over fiat, namely, their anonymity, full ownership, and speed of transactions
- Wikipedia, Overstock, airBaltic and numerous other businesses openly accept bitcoin for plane tickets
- Using gift cards and crypto debit cards can get crypto enthusiasts virtually anything they want without any problem
Why Should I Use Crypto?
One of the most common problems people have with crypto is that they simply do not know why they should use it for purchases. Yet, in reality, virtual assets have several crucial advantages over traditional means of exchange such as dollars. Cryptocurrencies are completely anonymous, so none of the transactions which occur on a blockchain can evidently point to a particular person. Moreover, crypto investors retain full ownership of their funds by storing them in a non-custodial wallet, unlike people who deposit their money at banks, which are, additionally, susceptible to potential bankruptcies. Finally, cryptocurrency transactions have impressive speeds; for instance, it takes NANO blockchain less than five seconds to process a transfer. Compare it to a standard bank procedure of sending money abroad which may last even for a week. These are only some benefits of using crypto, and to get a full experience, it is always better to try utilizing them yourself.
Companies that Accept Cryptocurrencies
Overstock
Overstock was among the early adopters of cryptocurrencies. The company’s CEO quickly discovered the potential of blockchain technology and decided to start accepting Bitcoin. On Overstock’s website, one can always find exciting deals on furniture and other home goods. The brand is extremely popular in the crypto community since it serves as one of the main examples of large companies recognizing the power of crypto.
airBaltic
Ever thought about paying with Bitcoin for your plane ticket? With airBaltic your dream may easily come true since it officially became the first airline to launch crypto payments. The company is no stranger to crypto trends, and recently it presented its own NFTs featuring Airbus A220-300 and photos of Latvian cities. It seems that flying with airBaltic may truly feel like living in the future.
Newegg
Newegg is an American online retailer of computer parts and electronics which has a huge assortment of products on its website. At Newegg.com you may struggle to find new-gen GPUs in stock, but crypto payments are always on the list. The company works with BitPay, a crypto payments processor, which helps it accept Bitcoin and a host of other altcoins, including Doge.
Wikipedia
Of course, not only commercial enterprises use cryptocurrencies. There are also non-profit organizations such as Wikipedia that exist to a considerable extent thanks to donations of their patrons. Wikipedia values any kind of contributions which ultimately led it to start accepting crypto donations.
Ways to Use Crypto to Buy Any Product
Gift Cards
Yet, it is clear that not all companies are familiar with cryptocurrencies and, as a result, do not let their clients use them as payment. Luckily, the crypto community has come up with an ingenious way to utilize digital assets while circumventing fiat money. People simply buy gift cards of various brands such as Amazon, eBay, or Starbucks with Bitcoin and then redeem them whenever they please.
There are several platforms that exchange crypto for gift cards, including Coinsbee and Bitrefill. The process of buying a gift card using Bitcoin or any other type of coins is simple. Just pick a gift card, specify its balance amount, enter your email, and pay with the crypto of your choice. With gift cards, the assortment of goods you can purchase expands significantly because almost every company believes that gift cards are an indispensable element of a solid business.
Crypto Debit Cards
Despite their utility, gift cards may be quite inconvenient for those who wish to make cryptocurrencies their primary means of payment. Gift cards have strict limits in terms of the balance amount, which automatically prevents people from shopping for expensive things such as cars or houses. Fortunately, there is an effective solution. All one needs to do is order a crypto debit card, an item which will allow you to keep your crypto within reach of your hand.
Essentially, Visa and Mastercard, in partnership with several other companies from the crypto industry, have produced cards that ultimately give you an opportunity to spend digital currencies just as you spend dollars or any other fiat. For instance, a Binance Visa card requires its holder to top it up with Bitcoin. After ensuring there are funds on the card’s balance, the holder can use it just like any other debit card. When they make a payment, Binance automatically deducts the needed sum from the balance. There are a dozen of crypto debit cards, and all of them have slightly different mechanisms, so it makes sense to check each one out to find the best offering.
PayPal
If you already have a PayPal account, then you may consider spending crypto with the help of this service. Recently the company added a feature which lets its users buy, store, and spend Bitcoin and Ethereum at any merchant that supports PayPal payments. Even though Visa and Mastercard are generally more popular in the world and, therefore, getting a crypto debit card might be a sound idea for people using cryptocurrency on a daily basis, PayPal is perfect for occasional purchases with Bitcoin.
Accept Crypto
Spending crypto is fun, but have you tried earning it? Getting Bitcoin these days can be a tall order, and not everyone is lucky to have a stack of powerful GPUs to mine a fortune. That is why accepting Bitcoin as payment is, perhaps, the easiest and most convenient way out there to get hold of the coveted coins. NOWPayments presents several easy-to-integrate solutions for businesses that want to accept cryptocurrency. Owners of eCommerce stores on WordPress can integrate a WooCommerce crypto payment plugin; those people who host their stores on Zen Cart or PrestaShop also can accept crypto using NOWPayments’ products.
There is also a solution for bloggers and charities that wish to receive crypto donations. They can place a crypto donation widget, link, or button on their website or a social media page and enjoy a steady inflow of Bitcoin donations from their audiences.
Conclusion
Thanks to the rapid development of the crypto industry, today, individuals with enough virtual assets in their wallets can afford any kind of product. Even though there is still a long way to walk for the crypto community in terms of mass adoption, it has been successful in persuading several companies to adopt new technology.
Even though the list of large enterprises that accept crypto is relatively small, there are ways to pay with crypto non-directly. Gift cards and crypto debit cards are the most common ways people employ when they face merchants that do not accept Bitcoin. There are also means of earning crypto by integrating NOWPayments solutions such as plugins for websites and crypto donations.