Did you know that on January 3, 2009, the Bitcoin network went live? In the last 13 years, we have seen this cryptocurrency go from $0 to over $68,000 for one coin and as of the writing of this post the price is around $23,000. If you are a Bitcoin fan or are new to the world of Bitcoin and are asking yourself “what can you buy with Bitcoin?” you are in the right place.
Our guide below will explore the list of companies accepting cryptocurrency and how you can spend some Bitcoin if you choose.
Coffee
It’s hard to imagine, but you can buy your morning coffee using Bitcoin if you want. In 2021, Starbucks partnered up with Bakkt digital wallet to give customers the option to pay with Bitcoin when checking out.
If you choose to buy your morning brew with Bitcoin, you just need to add your Bakkt digital wallet to your Starbucks app and easily pay at the counter via the app.
Cars
Not every dealer or car manufacturer accepts Bitcoin yet, but as of the writing of this post, BitCars, AutoCoinCars, and Post Oak Motor Cars accept it.
Bob Moore auto dealers are also accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. The dealership is based out of Oklahoma and all 18 of their dealerships accept Bitcoin. There are also a few BMW dealerships in the UK and the U.S. that are allowing customers to pay with Bitcoin.
Subscriptions
There are several subscription companies accepting Bitcoin payments. For example, you can pay for cloud storage, a VPN provider or a streaming service using Bitcoin. A popular VPN company that accepts Bitcoin directly on their site is ExpressVPN.
Games
There are a few sites where you can directly purchase games using cryptocurrency. One popular option is Joltfun. You can either add funds to another game vendor wallet or buy keys for specific games that you want to play.
Another option is to buy a gift card online using crypto for the vendor you prefer (Xbox, Steam, or PlayStation). Then you can use the loaded gift card for whatever game or games you choose.
Gift Cards
Buying gift cards with Bitcoin will allow you to use those gift cards even in places that don’t directly accept Bitcoin. There are a few sites available to buy gift cards with Bitcoin, but a popular one is called Bitrefill. Bitrefill has thousands of gift card options from Amazon to Uber to Walmart, you name it.
Other popular sites include eGifter, CoinGate, and CryptoRefills.
Electronics
You can also buy your electronics with some Bitcoin. Two popular companies that accept Bitcoin include Crypto Emporium and Newegg. On Crypto Emporium, they also give you the option of buying back your tech and paying you in crypto if you choose.
Fast Food
Yes, even fast food chains are now accepting the crypto king. Certain Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chipotle, and Subway locations are accepting Bitcoin as payment.
If you want to buy takeout with your Bitcoin, you can buy a gift card with Bitcoin for DoorDash, Deliveroo, or Uber Eats and then use the gift card when checking out.
Service Providers
A few services providers are adopting BTC in order to reach new clients and expand their customer base. These are some service providers that are now accepting BTC:
- WordPress
- AT&T
- Dish Network
- Namecheap
- Twitch
- Bloomberg, Chicago Sun-Times
- ProtonMail
- Vultr
Please keep in mind that this list is as of the writing of this post, and it can quickly change.
Travel Companies
Virgin Galactic is the first commercial spaceline that accepts Bitcoin. This is a unique opportunity where you can see how it feels to be an astronaut in space.
The first airline to accept Bitcoin payment is AirBaltic. They teamed up with bitpay to allow crypto payments from customers.
Expedia is one of the largest travel booking agencies and they too are accepting Bitcoin payments for hotel bookings. They are planning on expanding the payment option into flights and activities in the future.
Education
A few schools have also caught on to accepting BTC from students. Curtin University, in Australia, accepts Bitcoin to pay for your degree. The King’s College, based out of New York City, also accepts BTC.
Treehouse is an interactive education specialist that allows Bitcoin to be used as a form of payment for a variety of the courses offered. Also, European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) is another university based out of Germany that allows you to pay with BTC.
Not only can you pay for your education with Bitcoin in certain locations, but you can now receive a Master’s degree in Digital Currency and Blockchain. A private school in Cyprus called the University of Nicosia is offering this program, and they too accept BTC to pay for tuition fees.
Online Stores
Although you can use the option mentioned above of buying gift cards with Bitcoin and then shopping online with those gift cards, there are certain online stores that accept Bitcoin as payment. Home Depot is using the Winklevoss/Flexa system, which accepts Bitcoin payments from customers.
Microsoft is allowing customers to use Bitcoin to add money to their account. Overstock is also accepting Bitcoin payments. Shopify, the e-commerce platform, has also adopted BTC for payments.
Event Tickets
The Dallas Mavericks allow people to pay with Bitcoin and, in fact, will offer a discount on their merchandise for paying with BTC. The Oakland A’s are offering a six-person suite for the price of a Bitcoin.
Also, the Miami Dolphins are accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. There is a company called Blockparty in Manhattan that allows residents to buy concert tickets with their Bitcoin.
For those that host events, it is possible to adopt BTC as a payment option. Plugins such as Big Tickets will make it easy to accept BTC from attendees.
Movie Night
MovieTickets.com has also embraced crypto as a payment method. There are movie tickets available for around 900 different movie theaters around the United States. Simply enter in your zip code to see the theaters in your area you can choose from.
A major movie theater accepting tickets purchased via MovieTickets.com include Regal Cinemas.
Bitcoin Debit Card
Another option besides buying gift cards with BTC is to get a BTC debit card. These debit cards are available from major crypto exchanges. They are treated like a bank debit card where you can use it wherever Visa and MasterCard are accepted, and you can also withdraw money from ATMs.
You can use a crypto wallet to keep track of how much you have spent on your debit card and also use the wallet to refill the card as needed. Sometimes you can do a cryptocurrency ATM search for “all locations near me” to find an ATM where you can use cash to buy BTC and then load it into a debit card.
Fur Babies Supplies
Although, you can’t directly buy on sites or stores like Petco, Chewy, and PetSmart, you can take advantage of Paxful. On this site, you can buy gift cards from any of these pet stores using your Bitcoin. Then you can use the gift cards to buy anything from food to grooming tools to apparel, either online or in person.
Charity Donations
Certain charities are now accepting Bitcoin as payment. Some of these include Save The Children, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, RNLI, and The Water Foundation.
UNICEF was the first UN organization that accepted and redistributed crypto in 2019.
Gambling
If you are a lottery fan or enjoy gambling, then depending on the state you live in, there might be a gambling site that will let you gamble with Bitcoin. Make sure that you are in a country or state that allows gambling legally to avoid finding yourself in trouble.
In 2014, the D in Vegas started accepting Bitcoin as well.
Funeral Planning
In Minnesota, you can purchase cremation packages or coffins with Bitcoin. If you want to plan out your funeral plans ahead of time and pay with BTC, then take a look at what Crescent Tide Funeral & Cremation offers.
Bitcoin Lightning Network
The Lightning Network was built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain network as a solution for users to pay with Bitcoin efficiently for daily transactions. The Lightning Network makes it faster and cheaper to transact with Bitcoin thanks to a network that is dedicated to microtransactions.
This allows cafés and restaurants to accept Bitcoin payments for something as small as a soda or a cup of coffee. Some restaurant chains that adopted Lightning payments include McDonald’s, Walmart, CoinPayments, Lightning Pizza, and Rock’n’Block Blockchain Developers.
Merchants That Accept Cash App and PayPal
Just a few short years ago, the main challenge that the Bitcoin community faced was the lack of an infrastructure that could support quick and easy payments. Simply trying to buy Bitcoin was not as accessible as it is now. This is why for a long time BTC was mainly seen as an investment rather than a utility.
Thanks to payment solutions like Cash App and PayPal, it is easier than ever before to buy BTC and use it to pay. All you have to do is set up an account and link up your bank account to purchase Bitcoin. You can then use those apps or their app debit card to pay wherever PayPal or Cash App is accepted as a form of payment.
Paying Someone With Bitcoin Directly
If you ever want to pay a friend back in Bitcoin for a tab they picked up, it is not too complicated. It is a bit similar to sending an email, except that you’re sending money to their bitcoin address instead of a message to an email address.
One of the pros of sending money with Bitcoin is that you do not need to give out as much of your personal information. When sending someone BTC directly you don’t send any of your personal info, not even your name.
You simply send them the BTC amount straight to their wallet address. They don’t even see your wallet information when you send them their money.
Since we’re on the topic about sharing personal information, it is good to note that when you are paying for digital goods with BTC, you don’t have to share as much personal information either. Your email is enough and this is to send a receipt and confirmation of your payment.
The process is simple once you put in your email, instead of bringing you to a checkout screen that asks for a credit card, the website will display the bitcoin payment information. It will either be a QR code for you to scan, a Bitcoin address you can copy and paste, or a link to “Sign in to Coinbase.”
Now You Know: What Can You Buy With Bitcoin
Now that we’ve answered the question “what can you buy with bitcoin?” and some places where Bitcoin payments are accepted, you can make an informed decision on whether you want to spend your Bitcoin or not.
With Bitcoin becoming more widely accepted, it is becoming easier to find more places that accept it as payment. Just half a decade ago, very few people trusted Bitcoin, but as we can see it is now being adopted by major name brand companies and this shows no sign of slowing down.
If this article taught you something useful, there’s more where this came from. Keep browsing our finance section for our latest guides.
