Since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin is the largest and most well-known digital currency. Its acceptance as a payment method has grown a lot in the last few years. There are also solutions to scale its transaction capacity, making Bitcoin more realistic as a day-to-day payment method.
Quite a handful of countries and companies all over the world accept Bitcoin as payment. Asia is leading the way in retail Bitcoin adoption, with peer-to-peer monetary systems driving the most development in Vietnam, India, and Pakistan.
Now, you must be curious about where exactly you can spend your Bitcoin. Let us help you out by telling you the top places you can spend your Bitcoin…
Brief history of Bitcoin
Bitcoin made its public debut in 2009 as a decentralised currency without the need for a central bank or any intermediaries. In the same year, Bitcoin was first used after it was released as open-source software when Satoshi Nakamoto (the nom de plume of the anonymous founder) mined the genesis block of the blockchain.
Since then, Bitcoin has been traded hundreds of millions of times and is increasingly viewed as a legitimate means of exchange. Moreover, In October 2021, the cryptocurrency set new highs when its price went past $66,878. As of August 2021, more than 76 million people on Blockchain.com had created unique Bitcoin wallets to access, buy, and trade Bitcoin.
Outlook of Bitcoin adoption
More and more governments are getting interested in Bitcoin, supporting the adoption of blockchain technology and BTC payments. Far more interesting are the governments who want to support the development of their own cryptocurrencies.
According to Chainalysis data, global adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies has increased by more than 880% in just a single year.
Chainalysis discovered that Vietnam currently has the highest cryptocurrency adoption, leading the 154 countries analysed. While India sits in second place, it is immediately followed by Pakistan then Ukraine and Kenya.
Many citizens in developing nations worldwide already opt to use Bitcoin to store and exchange value. While countries like China, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt among others have either banned or restricted Bitcoin in some way, it is only a matter of time for such use cases to spread across the globe, triggering Bitcoin’s usage as a unit of account.
Applicable use of Bitcoin
Due to the explosive growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the past nine years, it is now possible to do many things with Bitcoin – including travelling the world – by spending cryptocurrency.
Established travel agents such as CheapAir and Destinia accept Bitcoin as a payment method to book flights, car rentals, and hotels.
People can also buy tech-related products with Bitcoin. Several companies that primarily sell tech products accept Bitcoin on their websites with prominent examples including Newegg, AT&T, and Microsoft.
Bitcoin can also be used to buy a range of things including shopping for groceries and buying cosmetics at Lush. You can also buy coffee at Starbucks. Moreover, you can use Bitcoin to purchase real estate in some parts of the world including in Venezuela, Zurich and Amsterdam.
Top five places to spend Bitcoin
1. San Francisco
San Francisco is the technology capital of the United States and it is home to cryptocurrency trading platforms Coinbase and Kraken. More than a hundred merchants accept Bitcoin, from restaurants and bars to hostels and stores. In fact, there are 437 Bitcoin ATMs in the Bay Area, including 65 in the city of San Francisco itself.
2. Vancouver
Vancouver is arguably the Bitcoin capital of Canada. There are more than fifty merchants who accept Bitcoin in Vancouver or the surrounding suburbs, and 221 locations to buy Bitcoin. You can buy lots of things in Vancouver including food and Real Estate.
3. Amsterdam
Amsterdam is home to mining hardware maker Bitfury and the European headquarters of payment service provider BitPay. The city’s 840,000 residents have about half a dozen Bitcoin ATMs available to them. You can go shopping, travel, eat and sightsee with Bitcoin in Amsterdam.
4. London
London is home to 8.9 million residents, 50 bitcoin ATMs, and about the same number of merchants who will accept Bitcoin for payment. You can book accommodation, flights, buy jewellery with Bitcoin among other things in London.
5. El Zonte, El Salvador
This tiny tourist town is rebranding itself as “Bitcoin Beach”. Bitcoin can now be used to pay taxes, and foreign investors will not be subject to capital gains taxes. You can pay for groceries and utilities with Bitcoin in El Zonte.
In conclusion, since the first block was mined in 2009, Bitcoin has made substantial progress. The impressive rate of adoption indicates that virtual currencies are here to stay. Although some countries are cold to the idea, many are warming up to Bitcoin and that’s what we are here for.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.