Investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin
and Ethereum is all the rage, but actually spending it can be tricky. Because
of this, it used to be that cryptocurrency was seen as an attractive,
alternative investment opportunity. But it’s now becoming easier to spend in
the same way as cash. Leading investing publication, Invezz, goes onto explain the top five ways you
can go about this.
Specialist Debit Cards
Connecting your cryptocurrency to a debit
card that’s issued by card companies like Visa and MasterCard, enables you to
spend it wherever the card issuer is accepted. This makes it as accessible as a
typical debit card, if a shop accepts Visa, for instance, it’ll take your
cryptocurrency debit card.
Different types of cryptocurrency have
different cards available, like SpectroCoin for Bitcoin and Uquid Altcoin for
89 cryptocurrencies including Dash, ETC and Ethereum.
Spend in-Store
Now, close to 20,000 merchants accept
Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in their physical stores and these include
grocery stores, sports venues, restaurants and hotels. Plus, a wide variety of
online merchants support cryptocurrency payments including Overstock,
Microsoft, Lush and Expedia. Certain Etsy and Shopify businesses also accept
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Donate to Charity
If you’re feeling generous, you can also
donate your cryptocurrency to charity. Save the Children and the Royal National
Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) are two charities that accept Bitcoin – as does non-profit
organisation Wikimedia (the creators of Wikipedia).
Crypto ATM
Crypto ATMs allow you to trade certain
cryptocurrencies for cash and vice versa. They’re on the rise, with over 7,000
ATMs currently in 75 countries, supporting Bitcoin, Ether, Dash and Litecoin.
Now, over 11 new crypto ATMs are installed every day, so they’ll likely be as
ubiquitous as traditional ATMs within a few years.
Gift Cards
Gift cards are a popular way to spend money
online and with sites like eGifter and Gyft, you can buy gift cards with
Bitcoin. The good thing about gift cards is they can be spent by somebody else,
or given as a gift, without any cryptocurrency know-how needed. Online shopping
places where these cards can be used include Domino’s, Macy’s, Sephora, Apple,
Starbucks and Uber. Gift cards can also provide a simple way to lock in the
value of your cryptocurrencies – which will prove helpful in a down market.
Range of Options
For people looking to spend their
cryptocurrency, there’s a range of choices and this is growing as
cryptocurrency increases in popularity. There’ll be a time in the near future
where paying for your latte with Litecoin and your bagel with Bitcoin will be
as common as tapping your credit card.
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