Spend Bitcoin

Lolli Review (2020) | Earn Free Bitcoin Shopping Online NOW!

In this Lolli review, we are going to deep dive into what the Lolli App is how it works? How hard is it to use? Can I really earn free bitcoin? Is it worth my time? How does it all work? Luckily, we are going to address all of these questions and MORE in this review, so sit tight and learn why this revolutionary app can help you accumulate free bitcoin for what you are already doing anyways!

This review will go into how to shop online and earn free bitcoin, but there is also another app I’ve been using recently that explains a free app where you can earn free bitcoin while shopping in major stores in person as well. This is called the Life Info App, and you can read my in-depth review of that HERE.

Let’s get right to Lolli!

 

 

How Does It Work?

 

 

I’m sure you’ve heard of “Cash Back Rewards” before, as that’s a common thing these days when shopping and using your credit card. Lolli has come up with their own version of this, but it’s MUCH more interesting (to me, anyways). It’s earning bitcoin back.

So what does this mean? Well, it means that when you shop online on over 500+ major retailers websites, you can now earn a percentage of your purchase in free bitcoin rewards back. There is a list of supported retailers, which you can find HERE.

These stores vary in terms of what percentage of bitcoin they will give back as a reward, but it typically ranges anywhere from 10-15% and includes major retailers, like Groupon, Best Buy, Marriot, Sam’s Club, GoDaddy, and even Walmart.

As a privacy advocate, I will share a secret of the largest discount I have found yet at a whopping 37.5% bitcoin back and it’s for a trusted VPN service, called PureVPN. Use this link HERE to get not only a special discount for my readers, but the chance to get the largest discount I have yet to find (and I’ve tested this out on hundreds of sites).

 

 

 

Lolli Extension + Wallet

 

 

The Lolli Chrome extension is the most common way people interact with Lolli, and it also includes a bitcoin wallet built in. Once you accumulate at least 15$ worth of bitcoin, you can then transfer it to your mobile wallet, or what we recommend, a hardware wallet to store you new bitcoin earnings offline, while keeping your private keys secure.

Here are the steps to download the wallet (you can also watch the review/walkthrough video below) if that’s easier for you.

  1. Download the Google Chrome Extension HERE. You can also download the FireFox extension and Safari Browser extensions, HERE and HERE, respectively.
  2. Once you download and activate the extensions, it will walk you through registering an account with your email and walks you through how to use it, but its very simple. Once you open a website that is supported by Lolli, it will automatically notify you in the top right corner of your browser, much like a small pop-up ad.
  3. Start shopping. You can simply navigate to any website you normally would and if it’s partnered with Lolli, it will notify you and as long as you are logged in with your account credentials, you will receive a bitcoin rewards immediately after the purchase has been processed.

 

 

Why Should I Use It?

 

If you are new to Bitcoin (and those of you who aren’t) should know that accumulating bitcoin can be an expensive and time consuming endeavor. Any edge and any advantage to accumulate bitcoin for free (especially by doing things that you’re already doing, like shopping online) is a win-win.

Bitcoin is the new currency of the future. Even people that hate it know that it’s inevitable and cryptocurrency is here to stay. As of this writing, Bitcoin is going for about $9,700 per bitcoin, so this allows you to start accumulating this digital currency over time and allows you to spend, save, and even cash out into fiat if you’re so inclined.

Even if you don’t care about bitcoin, this is basically a freebie. You don’t have to buy anything special, or have a minimal spending amount to use this. It either works with the entire retailer or it doesn’t. They will be adding more and more retailers as time goes on, and there is a rumor that Amazon will be added very soon.

When you download and activate this LINK, we both will receive 10$ worth of BITCOIN FOR FREE with your first purchase. No minimums. Additionally, once you sign up, you will receive your own referral link that you can share with friends, family, or any followers, and the same will apply to you. Very cool.

 

What Retailers Are Accepted?

 

 

As I mentioned above, there is over 500+ retailers that are currently supported and counting. This list is constantly growing, but a few examples include: Groupon, Best Buy, Marriot, Sam’s Club, GoDaddy, and even Walmart.

You can get a full list of retailers and their respective discounts by visiting this page HERE.

Additionally, you will automatically be notified on any website that may not be listed on that page by popping up when you visit the site. However, the above link is primarily up to date at all times.

 

 

Lolli Review – Conclusion

 

Ultimately, Lolli is an amazing product. There are very few programs that make it easy to earn bitcoin at all, let alone get it for free. There is no doubt that as the crypto-ecosystem inevitably grows, there will be plenty of bitcoin rewards and bitcoin cash back type of programs, but this is an amazing start.

As the price goes up and and the overall bitcoin supply goes down, this will become more important than ever. Currently, 85% of the total bitcoin supply is in circulation. Once it is all mined, even if every single millionaire on the planet wanted to obtain just ONE bitcoin, they won’t be able to. There just isn’t enough supply. This scarcity is a strong dynamic of supply and demand and will ultimately dictate the price.

Right now, this the BEST tool to earn free bitcoin on items you are already purchasing online. If you also want to earn bitcoin while shopping in stores as well, check out the review I mentioned in the first paragraph to use the Life Info App to start earning it as well.

Don’t get left behind on this revolution. We are still “early” but as more and more awareness is brought to the table, the harder it will be to get bitcoin at all. Download the FREE Lolli Extension below now.

 

 

What do you think? Is there a better tool for earning free bitcoin while shopping online? Let us know down in the comments!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

The [#1] EASIEST Way To BUY BITCOIN RIGHT NOW (2020)

In this article I am going to provide you with the easiest way to buy bitcoin and also one way I personally earn free bitcoin by doing something I was already doing. This is a game changer! Within the last 24 hours, the Treasury Secretary of the United States, Steve Mnuchin, has made an announcement on regulating cryptocurrency and mentioned Bitcoin and Libra specifically. The recent tweet that was sent out by president Trump has been a bullish sign for many people. Not because he said it was “based on thin air” but, because no standing president has ever mentioned “bitcoin” or “cryptocurrency” at all, ever.

Image result for trump bitcoin tweet

 

This is bringing more mainstream awareness and people who are uneducated may take that as a sign that they should stay away from it, because Trump said so. Most people however, are taking this as a sign that they should buy some bitcoin, just in case.

No matter where you stand, the big question many people ask that are completely new to cryptocurrencies is “What Is The Easiest Way To Buy Bitcoin?“. Luckily for you, I am an expert in this field and I will provide you the TWO easiest, fastest, and simplest ways to obtain your first bitcoin or fraction of a bitcoin. As an added bonus, I will provide you at the end of the article with a free tool that will allow you to EARN FREE BITCOIN, by doing something you are already doing every single day. This is a “YUUUUGGGGEEE” (as Trump would say) bonus, as there are very few legitimate ways to obtain bitcoin for free.

Let’s get right to it!

 

#1 Cash App

 

This is a free app (you may have already heard of) that is similar to Venmo. It’s designed for sending and receiving money easily between users and can connect your debit card, credit card, or bank account to facilitate these transactions. It’s super easy to use and I use it to pay people for splitting dinner tabs and splitting costs on various things and works flawlessly. Unlike Venmo, they have also setup a way to buy bitcoin directly through the app, and you can even set up a purchasing schedule if you so choose, but this is BY FAR the easiest way to buy it once you set up the app.

cash app buy bitcoin

 

The steps are extremely easy to do this:

 

1.) Download the Cash App HERE. When you use this link, we both get $5 for free. Pretty Neat.

2.) Create your account and add either your debit card, credit card, or link your bank details if you’re so inclined.

3.) Click the Profile Icon in the upper left hand corner and scroll down and click on “Bitcoin”

4.) Click “Buy” (you can also sell at any time you want as well)

5.) Type in the dollar amount you want to buy and click “Confirm”

6.) You’re done! Your bitcoin will show up in your account within a few minutes. So simple.

 

 

How To Buy Bitcoin With Credit Card

 

#2 CoinMama

 

coinmama

 

This is a tried and true method I’ve used to buy bitcoin for both personal reasons and business reasons, with great success. This is one of the highest rated companies that you can buy bitcoin with a debit card or credit card with no limit. Now, in order to use a credit card there are some additional fees (not unlike Coinbase), but it will process and give you access to your coins in less than an hour instead of days. This is a good method if you want to buy them quickly and easily and do not want to use cash app or any other services.

This is the most trusted provider and the reviews are excellent. When I was originally looking for how to buy my first bitcoin, this was one of several options that came up, and back then, there were not many “trusted” options as there was many companies that did not have a good track record or many positive reviews, except this one.

This ultimately led me to use this service and not only was it quick and efficient, it was delivered within 20 minutes, and Coinbase was the only other option in the U.S. at the time and quoted a 10-day “verification” period just to activate an account. This didn’t even include the amount of time to let me buy my bitcoin, which would take another 3-7 business days. Not acceptable in my eyes.

If you want an easy and TRUSTED way to buy bitcoin with credit or debit card, then Coinmama is the way to go!

 

 

#3 Paxful

paxful review

 

This is another service that is VERY interesting and is unlike CoinMama above in a few different ways. Although Paxful is a pretty well-known way you can purchase bitcoin with a credit card, the reason I am giving it a mention here is because of the other ways and payment methods you can use to obtain bitcoin (or other altcoins if you want). With Paxful, you can trade gift cards (Visa, Wal-Mart, Amazon, eBay, and Starbucks) just to name a few.

Additionally, you can also use Zelle (a money changing app similar to Venmo and other direct payment services that many banks use), SWIFT, MoneyGram, Alipay, WeChat Pay, and hundreds of other gift cards as well. It’s also worth mentioning that you can directy trade other altcoins in for bitcoin and vice-versa. So not only is it a fiat-to-crypto exchange, bult it can also be used as a crypto-to-crypto direct exchange (not unlike ShapeShift).

All this to say, it’s now become easier and easier with these services to BUY BITCOIN. Whether you trade you existing gift cards, other altcoins, or even CASH, it’s not easier than ever to get your hands on bitcoin. When I first tested this service, I received a $100 Amazon gift card for Christmas and I didn’t really want to use it for anything, so when I discovered I could trade it in for $100 worth of bitcoin, I was pretty excited to say the least. I will leave a list of all the hundreds of gift cards you can use to trade for crypto HERE.

I will have an in-depth review out for Paxful shortly. Stay Tuned!

 

 

 

Easiest Way To Buy Bitcoin – Conclusion

 

Overall, there are multiple ways to buy bitcoin (some easier than others) but the two main methods I’ve listed above are BY FAR the quickest and easiest ways to get it fast. The price is always fluctuating, so some people may be hesitant to buy right now in fear that it could go down in the future. Here’s the deal. In the grand scheme of things, hind-sight is 20/20 and over the next 3-5 years, I can almost guarantee that the price will be higher than the point is at right now, which is approx. $10,900 at the time of the writing.

This is one of the most important and unique inventions since the internet itself and will continue to bring forth different use cases and provide value to every single person on the planet. This is part of a much larger revolution where the people are now going to take back their financial power from the government and authorities, and there is NOTHING they can do to stop it.

That is powerful.

Bottom line, if you don’t currently have any bitcoin, you can start accumulating it in small amounts (as low as $10) at a time and it will start to grow very easily. You will be glad you did it when you look back, even in 6 months to a year from now. Mark my words!

 

What do you think? Are there easier ways to buy bitcoin right now? Let me know in the comments!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

How To Spend Bitcoin On Amazon – Save Up To 33% (2020)

In this article, I am going to go over how to spend bitcoin on Amazon. Additionally, I will provide you a way to save up to 33%. But before I dive into that, I wanted to mention a recent I app I have used that allows me to earn free bitcoin on purchases I’m already making. how to earn free bitcoin

Yes, you read that right. This is app is called the LIFE INFO APP, and I recently wrote an in depth review of how it works and you can view it HERE. The jist of it is that it’s a free shopping app that saves you anywhere from 1-20% off on every purchase and includes major retailers (both online and in store) and the money that you save on each transactions can be credited to you directly in bitcoin.

This is THE BEST way to start accumulating bitcoin I have ever personally seen or used myself. It includes such retailers as: Home Depot, Best Buy, Chipotle, American Airlines, Buffalo Wild Wings, Groupon, and thousands more. Just this month alone, I have accrued over 30$ worth of bitcoin on stuff I was going to buy anyways, and the price of that bitcoin doubled since I received it. It’s free to use and you can start using it immediately upon download. Get your free download HERE.

Now, on to saving money when SPENDING your bitcoin on Amazon. How do I do that? How do I save money? Stay tuned for the whole article and learn how!

 

How Can I Spend My Bitcoin On Amazon?

 

I am going to provide you 2 ways to do this. The first is the way that you can save upwards of 33% and the one I have personally used and recommend. The second is by way of downloading a Google Chrome extension that will enable you to pay with your Coinbase wallet and convert the total amount instantly via a conversion. Here’s how it works.

1.) This method is by using the website Purse.io. This is a website that is built on top of Amazon’s platform that enables you to spend bitcoin and cryptocurrencies directly. It also allows you to save up to 33%. I will explain how this works in the next section, but I was able to use this method to save several hundred dollars last Christmas on gifts for my family.

2.) This is by way of using a browser extension called “Moon“. This tool is directly used on Amazon’s website and provides no extra discounts or incentives, other than the fact that you can pay directly with your bitcoin wallet on Coinbase.com and allows you to convert your Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum or Litecoin into cash to finalize your payment. You can also take advantage of using Amazon Prime for 2-day shipping if you have a membership.

 

How Exactly Can I Save Up To 33%?

 

As I mentioned in the above section, this method saves you up to 33% by using Purse.io. When you visit this site, it doesn’t look like Amazon directly, but when you go to search for items, it includes their entire catalog. When you go to checkout, you can choose your discount using the slider option your savings of anywhere from 5-33%. Here’s how it works.

Let’s say you want to receive the items in the normal 1-2 days while using Amazon Prime. If you are in a hurry, you can choose this time frame and immediately save 5% by choosing this. However, when you choose a longer delivery time frame, your percentage of savings starts to increase dramatically. For example if you choose 3-7 days, it can range anywhere from 12-15% off your items.

If you want to save the maximum 33% off, you will have to wait anywhere from 21-30 days to receive your items. Now, this makes sense to do when you are planning ahead for a birthday, holiday, or other major event. It also allows you to save a handful of money on larger purchases, like couches or TV’s where you can save hundred of dollars if it’s not immediately needed.

I managed to save almost $1,000 dollars by starting to buy these items around black friday in November of last year and things actually started being delivered earlier. This is quoted as an “estimated” time frame, because the system works by having users that want to trade their existing amazon store credit or gift cards in exchange for your bitcoin.

How it works is they place their order on your behalf (using Purse as a liaison) and no personal information is provided to them. When you place the order, it’s delivered to Purse.io immediately and they find a “buyer” who will pick up the order and authorize Purse to use their store credit or gift card balance to place the order and ship it directly to you.

Once you receive confirmation that the order is placed and you receive the items at your residence. Only once you are satisfied, you will release the bitcoin payment to them and you both go on your merry way. This is an elegant solution that matches people that don’t want their Amazon gift cards with people that want to make purchases in exchange for bitcoin. The best part, it works!

Can I Use Any Other Altcoins?

 

Yes. When you go to check out the primary payment methods are bitcoin and bitcoin cash. However, when you go to pay you can choose from a list of the top 40 altcoins as well to process payment directly on their site. You can either use your mobile wallet and scan the QR code on the screen to process payment, or you can copy and paste the recipients wallet address on your web or desktop wallet to authorize the transaction.

This gives users many different cryptocurrency payment options when finalizing their order and the best part is, the person who picks up the order doesn’t need to “approve” what you decide to use as an acceptable form of payment, as it’s converted back into bitcoin and Purse pays them directly as they are the middle-man in this equation to ensure that both parties receive what they want and are satisfied.

Do I Still Get My Prime 2-Day Shipping?

 

Yes and No. As I mentioned above. This depends on the discount and time frame you choose when you finalize your order. If you want to receive your item in 1-2 days, you will save 5% immediately and you will have it within the prime time frame. However, if you want the largest possible discount, you will need to wait longer to save more money. In my experience, these “estimated delivery dates” are a worst case scenario and a buffer for them to ensure you get it on time, but my experience over several orders much sooner than advertised.

This especially good if you are accustomed to a very quick delivery.

 

How To Spend Bitcoin On Amazon: Conclusion

 

Overall, both methods above work very well and I highly recommend it. As someone who always looks for valuable merchants and ways to spend bitcoin online, I was very excited to find Purse.io and even more surprised to find that I’m being incentivized to spend my crypto by saving A LOT of money in the process.

Not many merchants do this, and why not utilize the largest online retailer in the world for this process?

If you simply want to use Amazon’s site directly and ensure you get your Prime benefits and still spend your cryptocurrency, then you can use this, but you will receive no discounts. Keep in mind, when using Purse, you can use any store credit you have and import any wish lists or items that you already have in your cart as well, so it’s a very convenient process.

So, the next time you think to yourself, where can I spend my bitcoin? The answer will almost certainly be Purse.io, as this is the #1 way to spend your bitcoin online and save money at the same time!

 

***CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED WITH PURSE.IO AND GET 5$ OF FREE BITCOIN ON YOUR FIRST ORDER***

 

What do you think? Have you found better ways to spend your bitcoin on Amazon? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

 

 

 

 

Bitpay Card Review: My Experience Living Off The Debit Card (2020)

In this review, I am going to cover my experience living off of the Bitpay Card. In 2017, I was hired to build a cryptococurrency hardware wallet for a prominent crypto company and I was paid directly in bitcoin and bitcoin cash. I needed to find a way to pay my bills with crypto in this legacy financial system that would not allow me to pay directly for my rent, groceries, gasoline, etc… This is when I did thorough research and discovered there were several crypto debit cards that existed.

bitpay card

Which one should I use? Which one works best and has the lowest fees? How much does it cost to get one? How easy is it to use? These were all questions I had when I first started researching these options and after doing a few weeks of research, it was clear that the best solution was to use the BitPay card.

I was already using BitPay to accept payment through this website when it was used for ecommerce, but I was unaware at the time that they had a crypto to Visa cash option that works for personal use. I was already happy with the experience I had using them as a payment processor, so I figured I would try their debit card for every day use. My experience and FAQ’s are detailed below!

 

HOW DOES THE BITPAY CARD WORK?

 

So here are the basic process of using the card from start to finish:

  1. Go to Bitpay.com/card and request a card. It will cost $9.95 as a one-time fee after you’ve filled out the application, which requires your personal details to send the card to.
  2. Wait 5-7 business days for the card to arrive (if you’re in the U.S.) It can take up to 21 business days for other countries.
  3. Once the card is received, call the 1-800 number on the front sticker to activate and set a PIN. Then go to your account to enter in the secret code sent in the letter to activate.
  4. Once activated, you are able to see your card available for crypto loads from the Bitpay mobile app and start using.
  5. Choose the wallet (either bitcoin or bitcoin cash) that you want to load onto the card, the choose the USD amount you want to add, then authenticate with your password and Face ID (if one is setup for extra security on the Bitpay wallet app)
  6. You’re done, money is loaded instantly and you will receive a confirmation email once you have completed the “Slide to Pay” function on the final screen.
  7. You are free to use this Bitpay card online, in person at any merchant that accepts Visa, or at the ATM.

My experience has been one that has shown this to be not only a very simple process, but also one that you can load money on in a pinch if you need to top off or load up your card because you don’t have enough funds. I have also experienced an issue where the card was declined once, but it was the merchant who I was using who said his bank was declining it. Once I called Bitpay’s card services, I was able to have them unblock it on their end and it went through perfectly.

 

WHAT CRYPTOCURRENCIES CAN I USE WITH THIS BITPAY DEBIT CARD?

Currently, the only two cryptocurrencies that can be used to load up the card on the prepaid Visa is Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). There have been plans to add more in the future, but for the time being, these are the only coins that are supported on Bitpay’s platform for debit card usage. There have been rumors that Ethereum (ETH) may be the next coin added for further altcoin support, but that has not been confirmed by the company.

 

HOW DO I PUT MONEY ON MY BITPAY CARD?

 

Once you have the card activated and you have linked your card account online, you will see the card option to “Add Funds” on the Bitpay Wallet App. Once you click on this, you can select the USD amount or toggle to the BTC or BCH side to calculate the exact amount you want to load. This will have you select the wallet you want to fund with in the drop down menu. Once you select the wallet, you will confirm the total and continue with “Slide To Pay” at the bottom, and will load instantly!

 

(PRO-TIP: If you are concerned about price fluctuation, you can keep your funds on your wallets and only top off the card at the exact moment before you purchase. This gives you flexibility in trying to monitor and maximize the price volatility in your favor!)

 

CAN I USE THE BITPAY CARD TO WITHDRAW CASH FROM AN ATM?

 

Yes. I have used this in a pinch where a card is not accepted when I went to a concert venue, however, keep in mind you will incur a $5 fee for ATM withdrawals and that does not include any ATM fee’s the machine you are using will incur. In some cases, it is not worth it to use this feature, but it is nice to know you have the option if it’s required.

It is also nice to know that when using a debit option at a merchant, you can easily choose the “cash back” option as a free way to get cash back, but that is usually limited to $100 dollars. This is a work around I would frequently use if I knew I needed to have some cash on hand for certain occasions and is nice to avoid those fees.

 

CONCLUSION

 

I was able to successfully use this to make most purchases I needed to make for the past 2 years. There are some bills that people pay that required ACH and will not take a debit or credit card. IN these instances, I was able to use Coinbase to as a crypto to fiat off-ramp, but I avoided using this as much as possible as the fees were not helpful, and I liked the idea that I could use crypto top make payments in the real world, without a hitch.

I also negotiated a way to start paying rent and other bills via Venmo, which was a nice workaround top using ACH. I was so hell-bent on using crypto as a viable payment source to pay my living expenses, that I went out of my way to make this happen. Any funds that I did not load onto my card, I only kept a little of it on the Bitpay wallet app and then kept the savings (as everyone should) onto my KeepKey hardware wallet.

If you are unfamiliar of the best practices for securing your cryptocurrency the right way, I will leave my link here for my FREE E-BOOK that details the top 5 ways to secure your cryptocurrency, and I recommend giving it a look, as it’s free.

All in all, this was a viable solution to live on, but I understand that some people are unable to use this in their particular country or their particular circumstance. If you live in any European or Asian countries and would like the option to use a crypto debit card, you can also try Wirex.

The Bitpay card is an option that does have a monthly fee, but it primarily used on that side of the world and has a similar user experience. I would recommend using this card for ANYONE that wants an option to “cash out their crypto” in a moments notice that would prefer not paying any exchange fees and needs it to happen within seconds.

 

What do you think? Are there any better crypto debit card options that you have used? If so, let me know in the comments below!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

How To Buy Gift Cards With Bitcoin (2020)

In this review, I will be going over the 3 best ways on how to buy gift cards with bitcoin in 2019. There are 3 trusted sites (and one app) that are used to buy gift cards very easily and it happens almost instantly. You can choose whether or not to email you the redemption code for the gift cards digitally via email, or you can choose to have them shipped as a physical card to your friends or family if you are going to use it as a gift.

It all is very easy, and more importantly, it proves that there is real world utility for bitcoin (in case you didn’t know that already). Let’s get right to the best ways to go about this below!

Before I get to these 3 options, I will recommend you first check out the LIFE INFO APP. This does the reverse and allows you to earn free bitcoin AND save money on thousands of merchants, just like the resources below. I HIGHLY recommend using this free app, because it’s a great way to start accumulating bitcoin for free while saving money on purchasing items you are already buying anyway. I will leave a link to the review that explains this free app HERE.

 

DOWNLOAD THE LIFE INFO APP TO START EARNING BITCOIN

 

How To Buy Gift Cards With Bitcoin

 

#1 GYFT.COM

how to buy gift cards with bitcoin

This website offers a fully functioning website and a full service mobile app as well, but you can get pretty much any type of gift card you can think of. It’s essentially the Amazon of of buying gift cards and the selection is huge. It covers anything from pizza gift cards to department stores, like Macy’s to Best Buy to Cruises and Airlines.

This really is one of the largest sites that allows you to buy gift cards and isn’t fully dedicated to bitcoin. (we’ll get to that option below). You can actually buy these gift cards with any payment method, but bitcoin is an advertised method for doing so. I have used it once on this site and it’s fairly straight forward with scanning the QR code with my phone and authorizing with my BitPay wallet.

This probably has the largest selection of gift cards, but one thing I wish they did was incentivize the use of bitcoin by offering a discount for purchasing these gift cards, but for them it just appears to be another payment method.

If you want to save money and get discounted gift cards with bitcoin or bitcoin cash, I would recommend trying out Purse.io, which is Amazon built on top of a new platform that specifically deals in bitcoin payment. You can check out my review and recap in this article I wrote HERE.

 

#2 BITREFILL.COM

 

This is a site that I love using because it was built specifically to help propel bitcoin being used in commerce specifically. Not only that, you can buy gift cards with Bitcoin, but you can also use several other altcoins as well. You can also top up gift cards on your phone in any denomination you need and it offers over 750 different gift cards, so it has a VERY large selection, just like above.

You can also use Lightning Payments for ordering bitcoin as well. This is a new development, but one that is very welcome. I just downloaded my first wallet for the lightning network and it was really fun to see it in action! Granted, I haven’t tested it out on a purchase here, yet.

However, I plan to do that very soon on my next gift card purchase. I always try to support businesses that support bitcoin payments, but especially ones that were built on the promise of bitcoin being a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that was developed by the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto.

Overall, this is probably my favorite place to buy gift cards when I pay with bitcoin or any other altcoin, because of it’s dedication to this cause. I also had a smooth experience and had the physical cards shipped to me within 3 days and arrived on time and as described.

The one thing that also makes this different, is you can pay your phone bill and cable bill with bitcoin. How? Well, you can purchase a specific gift cards amount, say $94.36 if that’s your phone bill amount, and use that to pay your monthly Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, or Sprint Bill. Pretty neat.

Also, you can do this with your cable bill if you use Cox or Xfinity if you’re in the U.S. The same thing applies where you can purchase a gift card for an exact amount and use it when you go online to pay your bill. Pretty cool if you ask me!

 

#3 BITPAY WALLET APP

This is my number one go to mobile wallet because of it’s utility. I also have a visa card that I can load up my bitcoin on directly, so it’s all managed and very easy to use in the app. But, it also offers integrations with Coinbase and you can buy gift cards directly from your wallet there.

The only downside is, it supports only Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). If you are using any other cryptocurrencies with your day to day spending, then I would go with something else, but I use this one every single day, because the user experience is top notch.

In terms of gift cards, here is an article the wrote when it was rolled out last December HERE. Ultimately, it doesn’t quite have the features or selection that the other two offer, but when you use this mobile wallet for the debit visa card and for other everyday spending, it makes it easier to manage it all in one place..

It covers some larger name retailers like: Uber, Delta Airlines, Hotels.com and Amazon. There are other options, and they are adding more all the time, so keep an eye on that. Overall, I personally use this option the most as I mentioned above I have a lot of services integrated with this wallet and I’ve never had a bad experience.

 

CONCLUSION

 

These are the easiest steps on how to buy gift cards with bitcoin! Overall, I have a clear favorite in the list above in terms of specifically buying gift cards and that is Bitrefill.com, but that does not mean the other options are bad. I have personally used all 3 of these and they all have a good user experience.

The difference lies in their business models and the personal branding and position in the marketplace. They are all reputable and I can recommend all of them, but I still have a soft spot for “Bitcoin Companies” in general, and that’s just an emotional leaning on my part.

If you ever need to see some previews of get some other commentary, watch the video I did above that goes over this and shows you how to go about this process. Give these a try when you have a holiday, birthday, or any other type of event when a gift card would be appropriate. you won’t regret it.

 

What do you think? Are there better ways to buy gift cards online? Let me know below in the comments!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

How To Spend Bitcoin Online: 5 Best Places (2020)

In this post, I am going to cover how to spend bitcoin online and the five best places to do so in 2019. Not only am I going to show you how to spend bitcoin online, but more importantly, WHERE to spend bitcoin online. If you have never made a bitcoin transaction before, please review my earlier post that explains how to do this. As mass adoption starts snowballing, and we’ve already seen evidence of this by way of Whole Foods, and other major retailers coming on board to to accept cryptocurrency as payment, people are starting to look at where they can send their bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

I believe a fundamental component of making this global adoption happen quicker is letting people see how useful and easy it is to actually SPEND it as a currency. This is a life changing tool and is very easy to obtain for free, if you’re already shopping at these places and more using the Free Life Info App, and you can accumulate bitcoin AND get a discount at these retailers we will discuss below, but also thousands more. I will leave the in-depth review of this free bitcoin tool, HERE. Let’s get right into it!

 

DOWNLOAD THE FREE LIFE INFO APP HERE

 

#1 HOW TO SPEND BITCOIN ONLINE AT PURSE.IO (AMAZON ON TOP OF BITCOIN)

 

People always ask me, “Does Amazon accept bitcoin?” The short answer is yes and no. Amazon does not accept it directly, but there are a few chrome extensions where you can earn bitcoin and spend bitcoin in very small amounts by doing this via the Lightning Network, but that is still in it’s infancy. There is a much better way to get what you want on Amazon, AND you can also save up to 33% off the price.

How do you do this? It’s called Purse.io. This website I have used personally during the holiday season 2018 for several items, and it works great! How it works is when you visit the site, it looks very similar to amazon and it’s built on top of Amazon’s platform, but it has one key difference. You can pay in bitcoin!

This means that it IS Amazon, but it just looks different, as it’s a platform built on top of Amazon. The point of this is so that you can spend bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for payment, and it pairs you up with an individual who has amazon store credit or gift cards, and wants to order these things on your behalf, and send them directly to you.

Of course, you have to verify and approve everything arrives and is acceptable to you first. At this point, you can release the bitcoin payment once you are satisfied with your order. It’s a really elegant solution that matches up people who want to convert their amazon credit to receive bitcoin in return and you get a discount for doing this. Pretty slick, and highly recommended.

 

CLICK HERE FOR FREE 5$ IN BITCOIN ON YOUR FIRST ORDER

 

#2 HOW TO SPEND BITCOIN ONLINE AT CHEAPAIR.COM

 

how to spend bitcoin online

Cheapair.com is a discounted airline affiliate site that helps you find the cheapest flights from all the top airlines and is built on top of major search engines like Trivago and Expedia. The difference is, this finds the cheapest flights and let’s you pay in bitcoin directly to book your flight. This is really exciting and allows you to check out using a QR code you can scan with your phone, or you can just simply copy and paste your bitcoin address in the dropdown menu at checkout. You can also sign up for fare trackers and it will notify you when your flight lands in your price zone if you’re not ready to book now.

Overall, I’ve only booked 2 flights myself here, but it was a good experience. I have been living off bitcoin for over 2 years now and it’s required creative ways to find how to get to where you need to go without trying to pay any exchange fees, and this was brought to my attention. I highly recommend if you are the type of person that likes to shop for the cheapest price and bargain hunt when looking for trips and flights.

 

#3 HOW TO SPEND BITCOIN AT OVERSTOCK.COM

 

Overstock.com is a large online retailer, similar to Amazon, but specializes in mainly home goods like furniture, decor, and larger items for very cheap. I believe they also offer a 2% additional discount when checking out with bitcoin.

You probably have heard of this website and perhaps even ordered something from here, but you probably didn’t know they accepted bitcoin for payment. They do this directly and it’s very easy to scan the QR code at checkout with your smartphone or with your bitcoin wallet address directly copying and pasting as well.

They frequently have holiday sales and other coupons and promotions you can use on top of the discounts of using bitcoin as well. I actually bought a rug a few years back from them using bitcoin and it was very simple to use and I had no issues.

This was one of the first major retailers to start accepting crypto, as the company’s founder Patrick Byrne has been a long time supporter of bitcoin. I personally like to support companies that allow you to pay in bitcoin as opposed to the ones that don’t, but that’s just me. I like to support the cause and businesses that do as well.

 

#4 HOW TO SPEND BITCOIN AT EXPRESSVPN

 

This is KEY when dealing with bitcoin. When spending bitcoin online and also trading or investing bitcoin online, it is imperative that you are not tracked and using a VPN is key in doing this. I use Express VPN when dealing with any online bitcoin transaction, especially when doing trading on exchanges, like Binance or Coinbase. Luckily, you can also buy Express VPN with bitcoin as well and it’s crucial to protect your anonymity when doing this. VPN’s are also useful when doing typical web browsing and not wanting to be tracked with what and where you spend your time online.

Additionally, you will be able to use this to access other popular streamers and websites that put limits on your IP address, such as Amazon and Netflix, without having to pay them more. You may not know but some major websites track your information from your IP address and sell that information to advertisers.

Have you ever been talking about something privately, and then when you look at your Facebook feed or Instagram feed and you see an ad for what you were just talking about? Very creepy, but very real. The ExpressVPN not only allows you to use this on your iPhone and Android, but it works on multiple devices at the same time, for each device in your home.

My favorite part of course (not to beat a dead horse) is the fact that you can get a free 30 day trial and test it out and the use BITCOIN to pay for it. Super cool.

 

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR EXPRESS VPN FREE 30-DAY TRIAL

 

#5 HOW TO SPEND BITCOIN AT EXPEDIA.COM

 

This one is probably my second favorite source as almost everyone has heard of Expedia.com for travel. At some point in our lives, we probably have researched vacations or even bought flights and hotel packages from this site, and for good reason. This site has a wealth of information and provides tons of value, including tons of reviews from people that have already taken a specific vacation and they incentivize people to do this.

For me, I like the fact that they take bitcoin. I always check Cheapair.com and this site before I book any trip, because I want to support the bitcoin ecosystem by contributing to the network and transactions.

Needless to say, Expedia is very much considered a trusted authority site and the fact that they are one of the only travels sites accepting bitcoin for payment. I don’t have to do much selling here, but you can also receive a discount by using the Life Info App link above and make sure to check out the article  that gives an in-depth of that review on how to start earning your own bitcoin, for free.

CONCLUSION

 

All in all, these are the top 5 places I spend my bitcoin online, there are tons of other sites you can spend your bitcoin at, and I will leave a link with a MAP right here. It is my belief that the more we start seeing everyday stores that people use on a regular basis, and that includes gas stations and grocery stores, the more we will not only see the price and value of bitcoin go up, but it will be a free and sovereign way to manage your finances. The above video outlines what we covered here, and I will link other related videos to that as well for more crypto knowledge and value for you.

 

What are you favorite places to spend bitcoin online? Are there more retailers that I missed above? Let me know in the comments!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

Nordstrom And Whole Foods To Accept Cryptocurrency Payments Directly

Nordstrom

Nordstrom and Whole Foods to accept cryptocurrency payments directly. It has come.  The first big announcement coming from Consensus this week in New York, and it’s a big one. One of the newest payment processors called Flexa has launched and is partnered with Gemini, which is a large bitcoin exchange based out of New York and is underpinned by it’s own ERC-20 token called Flexacoin. 

How does it work? You pay for your items using Flexa’s app, Spedn, which generates a QR code that you scan at the checkout register. The merchant receives immediate payment in dollars, and the equivalent amount of cryptocurrency is debited from your cryptocurrency wallet in the Spedn app.

Whole Foods, which is owned by the e-commerce behemoth, is now accepting bitcoin as a payment method. The mind-blowing development was made possible thanks to a deal between payments startup Flexa and Gemini, the latter of which is the crypto exchange launched by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

Users only need to download an app dubbed Spedn and can make everyday purchases using cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, ether, Bitcoin Cash, and Gemini Dollar (GUSD). Considering that GUSD is the stablecoin of the Winklevoss’ Gemini exchange, it’s not surprising that it’s being supported as well. GUSD should will introduce some stability into crypto payments given its peg to the U.S. dollar and the volatile nature of the bitcoin price. As crypto investors have come to expect, there are no hidden fees or markups, so consumers will be incentivized to use the app.

Everyone knows that Nordstrom and Whole Foods customers are already “being green” given that the grocery no longer uses plastic bags. Wait till shoppers outside of the crypto community learn about bitcoin.

 

AMAZON’S MARKETPLACE COULD BE NEXT

Earlier this week, it was rumored that Amazon’s competitor eBay would stop using paypal and start accepting crypto payment directly on the site, and will facilitate payouts to sellers via that method as well. This is a key move as this is a large eCommerce retailer that does millions of transactions each month have found a way to implement a safer, faster, and cheaper payment system.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have been mum about this secret but now that it’s out of the bag, there’s nothing stopping wide-scale adoption of bitcoin.

The Flexa/Gemini/retailer partnerships are really a reflection of the best of both worlds. The technology builds on existing payments infrastructure that’s used to accept digital payments such as Apple Pay, for instance. All the retailers must do is tweak their scanners to identify payments from the Spedn app. Customers are already familiar with tap-and-go with their mobile device, so there’s nothing new for them to do. There are no additional hoops for the cashier to jump through that might slow down the line. As for the merchant, they can either accept to take the payment in crypto or convert it into fiat money.

For the crypto ecosystem, the announcement is what everyone has been waiting for. It means that if Whole Foods can accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, theoretically Amazon’s entire marketplace can integrate the infrastructure to do the same, seemingly with Flexa. In the U.S., Amazon Prime customers reportedly dole out an average of $1,300 per year on the e-commerce marketplace vs. $700 for non-members.

In addition to Whole Foods, the initiative extends to other merchants including Crate and Barrel and high-end retailer Nordstrom. The Flexa network is comprised of more than 30,000 stores and finally thrusting crypto into the spotlight for micro-purchases such as a cup of coffee, pizza, or electronics.

WHY THIS IS GOOD AND BAD

 

This will require people becoming aware of this change. This is amazing news, but there is always a learning curve when people start to adopt a new method of payment. People have been using only cash and credit card essentially for the last 60 years and it will take a an older generation and a newer generation to find ways to change their spending habits. That is the Bad.

Here is the good. With new innovation, comes new possibilities. Why would merchants want to start accepting crypto? First off, there are no chargebacks. It was reported that merchants can be charged upwards of $300 per chargeback when accepting credit cards. With cryptocurrency, the charges are irreversible. That’s not to say that you will not be dealing with customer service and/or returns in your business, but this is a HUGE advantage for no longer having to deal with credit card disputes.

Additionally, the fees to accept credit cards are typically anywhere from 2-5% per transaction, plus a $0.39 cent fee each time you accept a credit card. That’s absurd. As more and more awareness of this alternative, mixed with consumer confidence and adoption of spending cryptocurrencies on a consistent basis, the credit card companies and banks will hopefully soon be a thing of the past. Soon, it will almost be as antiquated as paying with a check.

 

THERE IS STILL A BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO THIS!

 

What if you could EARN cryptocurrency by shopping at these stores already? You can. I recently wrote an article on the new Life Info App that allows you to connect your bank account or credit card and use a shopping app that essentially allows you to create an instant electronic gift card, and save anywhere from 2-10% off on any purchase you make at thousands of retailers (including Nordstrom and Whole Foods).

How does this work? When you download the free app, you can use online or in person purchases on thousands of stores and brands and save on each purchase. The money that you save on each transaction is accumulated in the wallet and can be converted directly into Bitcoin! You can also convert it into several other altcoins that are supported by Coinbase as that is how you convert your savings directly.

This is a GREAT way to dip your toe into the cryptocurrency world, WHILE saving money at these stores you are already spending money at anyways, you may as well get free Bitcoin to do so.

If you refer to my review link I mentioned above, there are some demo videos that explain the entire process and it’s super easy to use. To me, this is a great bridge to get people familiar with the process. Additionally, you can then send your newly acquired bitcoin to the Spedn app, if you so choose. Please use my link here to get your free download and check it out.

 

***GET YOUR FREE LIFE INFO APP DOWNLOAD HERE***

 

Conclusion

 

All in all, this is very positive news for the cryptocurrency world, and this is a large first step in bringing the utility of cryptocurrency into the real world and offering people a BETTER alternative to our failed legacy financial system. Any tool that helps people transition from the inflationary dollar to the sound hard money of bitcoin, is something I support. The easier it becomes and the lower the barrier to entry is, we will begin to see MASSIVE droves of people start to transition from fiat to crypto. 

 

What do you think? Is there a better way for us to start gaining mass adoption and utility for crypto payments? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

What are STO’s? [Security Token Offerings] (Beginner’s Guide)

What are STO’s? The massive rise of ICOs throughout 2017 and early 2018 was unprecedented and brought about an entirely new method for raising enormous sums of funding in mere minutes. However, the sheer volume of ICOs that turned out to be scams, didn’t deliver on their promises, or ran out of funding before releasing a product led to the precipitous decline of the ICO in the latter half of 2018.

The power of blockchain-based tokens to create more flexible financial assets and instruments did not dissipate though. Decentralized finance (DeFi) is on the rise, with financial instruments from collateralized debt platforms to decentralized prediction markets materializing left and right.

One of the primary focuses of a DeFi landscape is the transition of conventional financial securities into digital tokens on a blockchain.

Commonly referred to as ‘security tokens,’ these assets are securities representing equity or debt with a digital wrapper around them — designed to provide a suite of advantages and flexibility to the assets.

Following in the footsteps of the ICO, the ‘Security Token Offering’ (STO) has garnered widespread attention as an ecosystem of investors, service providers, exchanges, and more jostle for position in a blossoming market. Security tokens have some intriguing prospects, and the STO presents a valuable tool for companies to issue digital assets on the blockchain.

 

WHAT IS A SECURITY?

A traditional financial security is a fungible instrument that holds value and can represent either debt or equity.

Securities as equity can represent ownership in a company (stock), where owners can profit from capital gains on the asset or even receive dividends payments in specific cases. Equity security holders can either be in public or private companies, and owners are usually entitled to some form of ownership in the company.

Securities representing debt is a representation of borrowed money, which must be paid back and is subject to various loan conditions. There are numerous types of debt securities including:

  • Government bonds
  • Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs)
  • Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs)
  • Corporate Bonds
  • Certificate of Deposits

Debt security holders are typically authorized to receive interest payments on the principal loan amount, and they can be backed by several means — including collateralized and non-collateralized.

Securities play a significant role in finance and are more relevant to STOs in their ability to be leveraged for raising funding. Companies can raise enormous sums via Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of equity when they go public, and governments can even issue municipal bonds to raise funds.

Public securities are traded on major stock exchanges and can be transferred between investors on secondary markets as assets.

 

SECURITY TOKENS AND SECURITY TOKEN OFFERINGS (STO’S)

Common misconceptions around security tokens are that they are different from securities. Although they exist on a blockchain, they are ostensibly securities, subject to the same regulations and case law precedence as traditional securities.

However, security tokens offer some unique advantages — particularly in improving secondary market liquidity, reduced compliance costs, automating trade restrictions, providing fractional ownership, and enabling asset interoperability.

STOs have opened an opportunity for businesses to raise funds by issuing digital security tokens to investors in a regulatory-compliant manner. The advantages exist for both the investor and the issuer, while also providing much better assurances against fraud compared to an ICO. Issuers can come from a variety of areas, including commercial real estate, venture capital firms, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

There is discussion around the semantics of what constitutes a ‘security token’ or a ‘tokenized security,’ but for all intents and purposes, STOs in this context focus on the launching of new security tokens and not tokenizing existing financial assets.

One of the most straightforward and beneficial applications of an STO is with an SME looking to raise funding when they cannot tap into commercial banking services. Parallel with the rise of other DeFi services, SMEs can access open financial services — issuing security tokens for investors to obtain on the blockchain. This has important consequences for lowering barriers to access for retail investors and concurrently providing powerful financial services to SMEs in local and regional areas where they have historically been limited in their financial capacities.

Additionally, SMEs issuing security tokens offer an excellent example for highlighting the multiple participants required in the security token ecosystem.

 

WHO PARTICIPATES IN THE SECURITY TOKEN ECOSYSTEM?

If an SME (i.e., Company A) wishes to issue security tokens representing equity in their company, they can do so with the help of multiple market participants including:

 

  • Issuance Platforms
  • Exchanges
  • Custodians
  • Broker-Dealers
  • Legal/Compliance

 

Company A can formally issue their security token to investors via an issuance platform. Well-known issuance platforms include Polymath and Harbor, which are integrated with service providers like custodians, broker-dealers, and legal/compliance entities to facilitate a secure and regulatory-compliant process.

Developers for issuance platforms also work on standardized token interfaces (i.e., ST-20 for Polymath and R-Token for Harbor) that hard-code regulatory parameters into token contracts such as explicit trading restrictions. Standardized token interfaces for security tokens also enable interoperability of assets, which has positive downstream effects in secondary market liquidity and reduced friction in token trading.

Custodians are popular for storing digital tokens in secure cold-storage –, particularly with institutions. BitGo is one of the most established digital asset custodians, and custodians often partner with exchanges or issuance platforms.

Exchanges exist for investors to trade security tokens, enabling better access to capital, enhanced secondary liquidity, and democratized investor access to securities. tZero is a high-profile exchange that recently went live, backed by Overstock. Company A’s security tokens can trade on exchanges like tZero where investors undergo KYC/AML verification. Some exchanges can even operate as issuance platforms as well.

As an SME, Company A’s security tokens can be offered to retail investors who are largely precluded from SME investment opportunities due to various barriers of entry. However, democratizing such access to security tokens can help SMEs raise funding from local communities, providing a compelling boon for small enterprises and assisting in the growth of local businesses.

Open financial frameworks like Mt. Pelerin even seek to provide SME marketplaces for entities like Company A to tap into broad, open financial services on the blockchain.

Other applications of security tokens — which are already underway today — include commercial real estate investments funds (i.e., REITs) that reduce high investment minimums and even enable concepts like fractionalized ownership to emerge. Harbor has already hosted an STO for a South Carolina residential building with a significantly reduced investment minimum compared to typical rates.

 

STOS VS ICOS

what are sto's

Overall, STOs eliminate instances of fraud with ICOs and offer legitimate securities to a wider range of investors with better efficiency, interoperability, and liquidity than conventional securities. STOs are backed by actual assets while ICOs were primarily predicated on ‘utility tokens,’ with no underlying collateral and were not protected by securities law.

STOs also offer advantages over IPOs. They are cheaper and can encompass a much broader range of assets — such as fractionalized ownership in high-value art pieces or investment funds. Banking and brokerage fees are also drastically reduced via automation with launching an STO compared to an IPO.

It is important to note that although STOs fall under securities laws in the U.S., there are legal nuances to the launching of security tokens as they are based on a novel technology. Several countries outside the U.S. have also already banned STOs — including China and South Korea.

In the U.S., investors are pumping vast sums of money into the security token landscape as the role for participants in the young ecosystem continues to actualize. Evaluating which markets emerge as the most popular in the early stages of security tokens should reveal which sectors STOs afford the best advantages. Both SMEs and REITs are clearcut applications of STOs, but there are numerous other opportunities available for the issuance of security tokens that are practical, cheaper, and regulatory compliant.

 

WHAT ARE STO’s – CONCLUSION

 

ICOs were a novel concept, fueling crazy speculation of altcoins during their prominence at the end of 2017, but the industry has become more discerning since then. As ICOs have faltered, security tokens have emerged as a prudent use case of blockchain technology at the convergence of conventional financial instruments and digital assets.

DeFi is on the rise, and security tokens are poised to play an integral part in the broader transition to an open financial system.

 

What do you think of STO’s? Do you think they are here to stay? Let me know in the comments!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

How Do We Gain Mass Adoption For Cryptocurrency? Let’s Start With Merchants, First.

How Do We Gain Mass Adoption For Cryptocurrency? Let’s Start With Merchants, First.

Cryptocurrencies have a high barrier to entry.

The underlying technology is complicated, and some claim Bitcoin was initially designed to be inefficient for the sake of providing a trust anchor – creating challenges for smart contracts platforms looking to expand the capacity of blockchains to the world of applications.

how do we gain cryptocurrency mass adoption

As a result, Dapp user numbers continue to remain endemically low. Despite trending narratives like decentralized finance garnering more attention than blockchain-based games and other apps, the road to mainstream adoption remains an arduous task.

Cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin, remain an invention of money more than anything else.

Mainstream app users are not familiar with the advantages that ‘unstoppable applications’ that run on Ethereum offer, nor do they care.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not explicitly payment technologies, but fostering more widespread adoption of them by merchants and e-commerce stores might serve to supplement their growth well.

E-commerce is enormous and only snowballing. Retail e-commerce sales are projected to reach nearly $5 trillion globally by 2021, and the advent of better technology, more mobile phone commerce, and dominance of international providers like Amazon will only accelerate that trend.

Fiat payment rails are more than sufficient for the current iteration of e-commerce as payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal are integrated with virtually every major e-commerce platform.

If the opportunity for a turning point in the adoption of cryptocurrencies presents itself, it will be because of some monetary advantages they have over conventional payment methods.

For example, according to Shopify, PayPal-enabled merchants accept 79.1 percent of their payments via PayPal.

For domestic payments, PayPal charges a 2.9 percent fee based on the transaction amount plus a fixed fee based on the currency used. For international business, the fee raises to 4.4 percent of the transaction. Fees are not surprising, and consumers and merchants have become accustomed to them with nearly every purchase.

Kroger – the popular supermarket chain – recently announced that they would no longer be using Visa in select stores due to transaction fees. Moreover, Bloomberg reported that retailers pay approximately $90 billion in payment processing fees per year.

Some crypto fans say that cryptocurrencies can provide potential advantages in both fees and censorship, even though they also come with limitations.

First, they have minimal fees as no third-party payment processor is taking a percentage – fees only consist of on-chain transaction fees which are usually a few cents.

Second, since Bitcoin is decentralized and there is no third-party controlling the legacy cryptocurrency, there is no censorship. As the saying goes ‘not your keys, not your Bitcoin.’ If you own your private keys, you don’t have to worry about your transaction not going through, being delayed, or reversed.

So, what’s holding back Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from being widely accepted among merchants?

Well, we can basically break that down into three primary categories: not enough awareness/users, high barrier to entry, and inconvenience in converting between fiat and crypto.

Reducing the barrier to entry by building better payment solutions with crypto will eventually lead to more awareness and users. Web extensions for using Bitcoin’s LN like Lightning Joule and Casa are already available for easy and instant payments over the web, and BTCPay Server is compatible with leading e-commerce platforms as a plugin – such as WooCommerce, Magneto, and Drupal.

“Accepting cryptocurrency payments leaves more money in the pockets of artists and fans, who’ve been unjustly extorted for too long”, says EventChain CEO, Ashton Addison. “When other retailers realize they don’t need to pay outrageous processing fees. by tapping into a global decentralized payment network, they will adopt crypto payments as well.”

That leaves the biggest problem: the inconvenience of converting between fiat and crypto.

Most merchants do not wish to ‘hodl’ long-term digital assets, and would instead prefer quickly turning received crypto payments back to fiat. Merchants typically have to go through cryptocurrency exchanges, which charge fees themselves, do not have good security track records, and are another third-party in an ecosystem predicated on reducing the roles of third-parties.

Self-hosted payment processor BTCPay Server has a fiat-conversion functionality on their roadmap, but for now, the problem is a marked impediment to further merchant adoption of cryptocurrencies. However, Bitpay has been pioneering an easy way for merchants to easily gain access to accept cryptocurrency payments and instantly convert to fiat for only a 1% fee.

Cryptocurrencies cover a lucrative opportunity of potential technical solutions in everything from advanced privacy to decentralized finance. However, at the industry’s core, Bitcoin remains the flagship cryptocurrency that is empirically an invention of money.

Payments may not be its most attractive property, but more merchant adoption in an increasingly connected globe of e-commerce is sure to be a critical gauge of furthering its mainstream adoption.

One of the most notable realities is that regulation is needed before any sides of the marketplace can switch their payment system completely.

Please sound off below! What do you think the best way to gain merchant adoption’? Do you think we need to focus on something else first? Let me know in the comments.

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