When reading about Bitcoin the topic is usually about the value of the currency, whether it’s going up or down, what people’s opinion on it is, which country is or isn’t banning it etc. One thing that is often overlooked by people when it comes to it, is what can you buy with Bitcoin? It is afterall a currency, so just what services and products can you actually exchange it for?
The first ever Bitcoin purchase
The first ever purchase with Bitcoin was for pizzas when Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two. Of course nowadays this amount of BTC would get you a lot more than two, with the value of it in dollars being well into eight figures. This famous purchase was made in 2010, and it was during the following year that another milestone was hit when Bitcoin community member ‘Plato’ made the first ever road trip using only BTC.
As time went on more and more people were using BTC for ordinary, and in some cases not so ordinary, products and services. In the same year as Plato’s road trip BTC was used to tip a stripper for the first time, as well as an aircraft being bought entirely for BTC. And let’s not forget that in the same year the first room was rented this way as well!
The following year in 2012 Wikispeed were the first car manufacturers to offer their vehicles for BTC, followed by a dentist in Finland being the first private medical practice to accept it. Towards the end of 2012 more and more companies started to accept it as a valid form of payment, from big international companies such as WordPress, right through to small independent businesses, such a taxi firm in Herefordshire, England, which hit the headlines when they became the first taxi company to accept payment in BTC.
Of course all of the above tend to be unique cases, and were milestones on the Bitcoin timeline. So what about today, where can you spend Bitcoin in 2018?
Where accepts Bitcoin as payment?
Currently there are over 100,000 places which accept Bitcoin as payment, and with it being a digital currency they tend to me more online places than actual stores. One of the biggest names currently accepting BTC is Expedia, which allows customers to pay for hotel reservations with it.There are also rumours that you will soon be able to buy flight tickets through Expedia with it as well. Shopify is another big name accepting it, which if you’re unaware is a site that allows people to set up their own online shops and sell things over the web. And keeping in line with the first ever purchase using BTC, there is a pizza website called PizzaforCoins, which allows you to make purchases at a number of major pizza outlets in your local area in BTC, as well as a number of other cryptocurrencies.
One of the most well known and talked about companies accepting BTC is of course none other than Microsoft. The gaming giant allows customers to deposit BTC into their Microsoft accounts, which they can then use to pay for apps in the Windows store, and also the Xbox store. This is actually an interesting area to keep an eye on, as a couple of other cryptocurrencies have been created with the soul purpose of being used for the gaming industry, so it’s clearly a market which is expected to be heavily involved with crypto in the future.
The future of Bitcoin Payments
So as you can see there are a number of different ways you can spend your Bitcoins, and a full list of retailers accepting them can be found easily enough through Google. But what about the future, are there any exciting developments regarding this in the near future?
It has been recently announced that Brisbane airport is set to become the first international airport to accept BTC as payment at its many bars, restaurants and shops. Japanese electronics retailer Yamada Denki has also just started trialling a BTC payment system at two of its stores, as well as US basketball team Dallas Mavericks stating that they will accept it as payment for tickets next season. Japan seems to be the country to keep an eye on though, and it has just been announced that their airline by the name of Peach will be sticking to their plans to begin accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
So as you can see 2018 looks be an exciting year, with Bitcoin spreading out further into different industries, and different countries as more and more retailers begin to accept it as a form of payment.
About the Author:
Ian Scarffe is a serial entrepreneur, investor, key opinion leader and Blockchain consultant with business experience from around the world.
As a leading entrepreneur, Ian is on a personal mission to develop a culture of entrepreneurship, helping startups achieve their full potential as well as helping to expand existing companies.
Ian has founded ‘Binkplus’, a startup incubator in Europe. Ian is an Independent Expert at the European Commission – Horizon 2020
An expert in Startup, Investment, Fintech, Web3 and Blockchain industries. Ian currently consults and advises for a range of multi-million dollar companies.
Ian’s overall mission is to foster a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities across the world.
Ian Scarffe has written two books to help others:
The Ultimate Guide to Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency 2018 Blockchain Basics 2020
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