With all the excitement surrounding Bitcoin and other digital currencies making waves as an investment choice, some investors are wondering if they can spend some of their crypto like real money.
Not only that - even governments and establishment in general is recently opening up to digital currencies as a means of payment.
With that said, here are some obvious and less obvious ways to spend digital cash beyond the infamous daily coffee.
1 - Purchasing Goods and Services Online
Let’s start with the obvious. Of course you can use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment on the internet.
Cashless spending is becoming a convenient way to pay for goods and services without cash on hand.
Not all online stores accept bitcoin or alt coins to settle your bill but you can always use prepaid cards to shop both at physical shops and online stores. You may even use these cards to pay with bitcoin online.
There are a few apps that let you spend your hard-earned cryptocurrency by linking it to a debit card so you can use it like you would fiat currency. The actual tools vary in availability depending on your location. Just to name a few big prepaid card providers, that would be Binance, Bitpay or Coinbase.
Major credit card companies and most banks now no longer have a problem with crypto transactions, making it easier to shop wherever Visa and Mastercard are accepted.
Keep in mind that prepaid crypto cards come with fees, though. Fees being the main income of the card provider, these can be hefty. Also, many cards only allow bitcoin, only some work with wider range of digital cash. You can search for companies that accept Ethereum, Dogecoin, and more.
2 - Investing in Legacy Assets
You can take advantage of cashless payments via cryptocurrency, but even more opportunities are opening thanks to tokenized stocks and other blockchain-based financial vehicles that you can easily trade on platforms like FTX. That innovation finally opened the eyes of legacy finance as well as luxury goods and real estate corporations. Some of these have slowly and perhaps reluctantly started to accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.
It’s not only Tesla! These days, you can buy what you want with bitcoin, including investment assets.
In New York, brokerage firms are accepting digital currency for the sale of client properties. There is even a website that allows Ethereum and Stablecoin holders to purchase any of its listed distressed properties using the digital currencies they have.
Some websites accept Bitcoin and Ethereum savers to buy real estate shares simply by registering their personal information and selecting how many shares they need. Clients can also invest in companies and retirement accounts. The big advantage in the latter case is that this is also open to international investors.
3 - Donating To Charity
If you feel your luck turning around and want to share some of your blessings, you can pay it forward and spend your cryptocurrency on charities.
There are non-profit charitable institutions now accepting Bitcoin as a way to lower taxes as an advantage. Bitcoin is decentralized and is not under the control of the government. Likely, you won't have to pay capital gains taxes on digital cash sent to charity, but always check with your country’s laws.
Most importantly, your favorite charity will receive a more significant donation compared to giving away free fiat money.
If you're also following content creators, you can support them with digital cash donations to make them less dependent on the advertising industry.
Various platforms allow users to purchase digital gifts in return for cryptocurrency to show appreciation to the people they follow online.
4 - Paying in Crypto For Telecommunication Services
The first telecommunication corporation to allow Bitcoin payments was AT&T. Mobile users with bitcoin stashed away can pay for their mobile bills using cryptocurrency.
The company isn't accepting bitcoins directly for now. A designated cryptocurrency processor affiliated with AT&T will take the digital payment on their behalf after user verification.
You can also pay for your phone services with a combination of fiat and digital currency. The business working with the payment processor may choose a payment of whole fiat currency. When it comes to the fees, you can use bitcoin to pay for the transaction fees instead.
5 - Online Gambling and Gaming
If you have some experience in online gambling and have cryptocurrency dust to burn, you may want to try your luck in adult entertainment, gaming or online casinos.
One can say that while digital currency is still not entirely mainstream, in the realm of online gambling it has been fairly common for a few years now.
One thing to note about gambling and gaming sites is that it is not a good idea to try and deposit crypto if you have zero previous experience with it. Usually gambling platforms are not the most intuitive and some may also allow you to use different cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which can be confusing for newbies.
Remember that when choosing a platform to place bets, it's essential to do your research. This is not the most regulated of industries and owners of these sites may be fraudulent. And of course, gamble responsibly.
Conclusion
The success of cryptocurrency as a form of currency is gradually making its way into consumer society.
There are now many ways to spend bitcoin and alt coins in the exact same way you would spend fiat currency.
Well-known companies have seen its potential and are making it easier for cryptocurrency investors to use digital money in exchange for goods and services. It won't be as surprising if it finally works like the paper bills or coins in your leather wallet one day.