Cryptocurrency is used in different ways: as a volatile asset for speculation, digital gold or as a means of payment. In 2010, a user gave 10 thousand BTC for 2 pizzas. After 11 years, this purchase is estimated at $620 million. Since then, the community celebrates Bitcoin Pizza Day, and users can pay with bitcoins and cryptocurrency in 2023 in many stores. However, not all countries have access to payment with digital assets.
Features of payment for goods and services with bitcoin
Initially, cryptocurrencies did not have the best reputation. Since 2010, they are often used to pay for drugs, weapons and other goods from the black market. This is becoming a major obstacle to the acceptance of digital assets.
Worldwide
Many developed countries have managed to partially or fully recognize bitcoins: Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore.
But not everyone in the world is loyal to digital coins. In September 2021, China, on the contrary, imposed sanctions against bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and a month later, mining was outlawed.
Digital assets are most widely used in countries with high inflation. In Venezuela, the exchange rate of the local currency (bolivar) has been falling steadily for several years. The authorities even launched the national token El Petro. However, it has not become widespread – the local population prefers to use Dash.
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In Russia
The authorities made the first serious step on July 22, 2020 – the State Duma recognized bitcoins. Citizens were allowed to buy digital assets on foreign platforms and store them on personal wallets. However, payment with cryptocurrency in Russia for goods and services is prohibited.
Legislation regarding cryptocurrencies is gradually being updated. In late October, the Russian Foreign Ministry told journalists about the possible replacement of the dollar with a digital asset for settlements with international partners.
The first to accept cryptocurrency was the chain of fast food restaurants Subway. This happened in 2013. For 6 months, the point in Dolgoprudny offered to pay in BTC. In the future, local entrepreneurs will probably get the legal right to accept payment in bitcoins.
Previously, the founder of the online store LavkaLavka sold products for BTC. In the summer of 2017, the leaders of the project were summoned to the prosecutor’s office to collect testimony regarding the acceptance of bitcoins. Then law enforcers issued them a warning.
“In Russia, only rubles can be accepted, and monetary surrogates (coins) are prohibited,” Boris Akimov, the founder of LavkaLavka, recounted the words of the investigator.
Where a Russian can pay with cryptocurrency in 2024
In 2023, the circulation of digital assets in the Russian Federation is regulated by the Federal Law adopted in 2020. The document separates the concepts of CFAs and cryptocurrencies. The former are objects of digital rights, they are issued and controlled by issuers approved by the Bank of Russia. The latter include bitcoin and altcoins. Both can be bought, stored, used for trading on foreign exchanges and pledged as collateral. Digital assets and cryptocurrencies cannot be paid for in Russia.
In the summer of 2023, the government is preparing amendments to the Federal Law. It is planned to introduce mining into the legal field and create a state infrastructure for cross-border transfers in cryptocurrencies. The government does not plan to allow domestic settlements in bitcoins. For this purpose, the state is introducing a third form of national currency – the digital ruble. CBDC testing began in April 2023.
So far, Russians can pay with cryptocurrency for purchases on foreign marketplaces. Settlements are made with the help of special intermediary services.
For example, Moon offers to create virtual Visa cards and replenish them with bitcoins. With their help, you can buy goods in American online stores.
Where you can pay with bitcoins not in Russia
More and more companies are announcing their support for cryptocurrencies. Among them are large foreign brands from different spheres of activity.
Online stores
For digital assets you can buy clothes, equipment, souvenirs and other goods. The table contains sites where bitcoins are accepted.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Amazon | One of the largest platforms for e-commerce. Originally sold books, but today the site offers jewelry, appliances, and clothing. |
| eBay | A platform for online auctions |
| Overstock | Furniture and home goods store |
| Shopify | Canadian platform for creating online services. Sellers are given the opportunity to accept coins. To do this, Shopify partners with 4 aggregators: Coinbase, GoCoin, BitPay and CoinPayments. |
| Newegg | The store of appliances, toys and home goods has been accepting cryptocurrency since 2014. BitPay acts as the aggregator. You can pay with Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash, and other coins. |
| Rakuten | Japanese e-commerce giant. The company operates in 30 countries. In February 2021, it launched the Rakuten Wallet. With it, merchants accept BTC, ETH, and BCH. |
| eGifter | The site allows you to buy gift cards for Bitcoin. The site features thousands of offers from 300 companies in tech, sports, and food. |
Travel organization sites
When traveling abroad, users usually take dollars or euros on the road. These fiat currencies are accepted in the bank of any country. Crypto-enthusiasts don’t have to change BTC at all to buy a plane ticket. As of 2023, several services accept cryptocurrency at once. Here’s where you can pay with bitcoins:
- Bitcoin.Travel
- airBaltic
- CheapAir
- Expedia
- Surf Air.
Restaurants and cafes
As the popularity of digital assets grows, paying with bitcoins for a cup of coffee or lunch is becoming available. Dozens of cafes are offering bitcoin and altcoin payments.
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Starbucks | The largest chain of coffee shops offers users purchases through the Bakkt Cash gateway. The payment instrument is available from March 2020. |
| Burger King | Fast food restaurant chain known for its wide range of burgers. It is possible to pay with cryptocurrency in some locations in Venezuela. The company has partnered with Cryptobuyer and accepts bitcoins, Dash, Litecoin, Ethereum and Tether. |
| KFC | In Canada, a fast food restaurant chain offers users to buy a bucket of wings for BTC. All payments go through BitPay. |
| Quiznos | The US restaurant chain has announced that it is accepting digital assets. In Denver, you can pay for your order using cryptocurrencies and fiat via Bakkt Cash. |
| Pembury Tavern | The London pub has been accepting bitcoin payments since 2013. Back then, a pint (473 ml) of ale cost 0.0492 BTC. |
| Old Fitzroy | The popular pub in Australia announced its support for digital assets in 2013 by launching a “Beer for Bitcoins” promotion |
Other products and services
Support for bitcoin payments was announced by organizations and services from a variety of industries.
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Badoo | Dating app |
| PureVPN | IP address provider |
| Museum of the Coastal Bend | Museum in the USA |
| AMC | American movie theater chain |
| Benfica | Portuguese soccer club |
| 4Chan | Anonymous forum |
| Wikipedia | Free encyclopedia |
| Virgin Galactic | A company offering space travel |
| WordPress | A service for running websites |
| Miami Dolphins | Professional American soccer club |
| Twitch | Streaming service |
Payment procedure using BTC
The settlement scheme in services depends on the provider. The main problem with cryptocurrency transactions is the lengthy processing of transactions in many blockchains. The Pembury Tavern pub has found a simple way to speed up the transaction:
- When a customer wants to pay with cryptocurrency for a purchase, the bartender enters the amount into the cash register and specifies the cryptocurrency.
- For billing, the exchange rate is checked through the BitcoinInfoCharts analytics service.
- With the help of the Blockchain application, a QR code is generated for payment for goods and services.
- The visitor scans the image and confirms the transfer.
Bar owner Stephen Earley does not wait for payment confirmation on the Bitcoin network. He is aware of the likelihood of double spending – sending multiple transactions to different accounts – but visitors are usually still in the pub after paying for their order.
Stores accepting bitcoin most often provide a QR code or wallet address. The user needs to transfer the specified amount and wait for the transaction to be confirmed.
How to find stores that accept Bitcoin
According to the American microfinance organization Fundera, more than 15 thousand startups offer to pay for goods and services in cryptocurrency. To find the nearest store where you can pay with bitcoins, such services offer:
In 2020, the PayPal service announced support for bitcoin. At first, the function was available only for US residents, but in 2021 the company provided it to UK residents as well.
Pros and cons of cryptocurrency payment
The disadvantage of Bitcoin and some other coins is the slow processing of applications. In the Bitcoin network, the generation of a new block takes about 10 minutes. In addition, transactions with minimal fees are processed longer. But experts have come up with several ways to speed up transfers.
If the development of digital assets continues, instead of rubles and dollars, customers will be able to pay with cryptocurrency for any goods or services. Enthusiasts will unanimously vote for total support for the new means of payment. However, this method of payment for goods and services has both advantages and disadvantages.
| Pros | Minuses |
|---|---|
| Irrevocability of payments. Once the transaction is confirmed, no one can take money from the recipient. The transfer can not be canceled or canceled. | Low throughput. The speed of payment processing in the blockchain is noticeably slower than that of Visa or Mastercard. |
| Transparency. Buyer and seller freely track the status of the transfer. | High volatility. The exchange rate after cryptocurrency payment can fall quickly, leading to losses. |
| Privacy. In transactions, it is impossible to find out the personal information of the parties. | The risk of deanonymization. Wallet owners reveal identities. If a camera is installed in the store, it is possible to identify the buyer from the recording. |
| Quick account opening. It takes a couple minutes to create a wallet to receive payment with cryptocurrency. | Irrevocability of transactions. If the buyer mistakenly sends coins to another wallet, it will not be possible to return them. |
| Low costs.Sellers do not need to pay a commission to the bank for the maintenance of the terminal | Legal prohibitions. In some countries, stores do not accept bitcoins for payment due to regulatory restrictions. For example, in Russia, you can buy and store tokens and coins. But it is forbidden by law to consider them a means of payment. |
Will bitcoin replace fiat in the future
Cryptocurrency is a new and promising asset. Blockchain is a transparent system with clear rules that apply to all participants. In the case of fiat, one has to rely on the state, the bank and the fair use of the printing press.
Opponents of digital assets often emphasize the lack of collateral. But it is worth noting that fiat money does not have a fixed rate either. In 1976, the Jamaica Monetary System was adopted, which abolished the peg of the U.S. dollar to gold. In periods of serious crises, fiat also quickly becomes cheaper relative to other assets.
| Name | Maximum number of transactions per second |
|---|---|
It is too early to talk about the full-fledged use of digital currencies instead of national monetary units. The main obstacle is not regulation, but scaling. Due to low bandwidth, the Bitcoin network and a number of others will not be able to cope with the load if the assets start to be used everywhere. To see this, just compare the bandwidth of fiat and digital payment systems.
Summary
In 2021, users have the opportunity to pay with BTC coins for apartments, cars, yachts and other expensive goods. In such cases, the advantages of digital currencies are fully disclosed. The buyer remains anonymous, his transactions can not be blocked or canceled. If the user wants to pay for a cup of coffee, the more convenient financial instruments would be a bank card or cash. Due to fixed fees and low speed of transaction processing, cryptocurrencies are inferior to fiat in everyday settlements.
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ What are the fees on the Bitcoin network?
In October 2021, it paid an average of $3.2 per transaction. You can find out the current fee by using blockchain observers such as BitcoinInfoCharts.
📝 Why are stores interested in accepting cryptocurrency?
Among the main reasons are advertising and audience expansion. If a major brand announces support for BTC, the media will write about it.
💵 Is it possible to buy bitcoins for cash?
Yes. You can find terminals for this in major cities using the Coin ATM Radar service. Tokens and coins are exchanged for cash on peer-to-peer platforms (P2P exchanges).
📱 Does Bitcoin provide anonymity?
Yes. But the wallet owner can reveal his or her identity, for example by purchasing an airline ticket. In addition, the Bitcoin network has no encryption of the sender’s IP address. The history of transactions is in the public domain.
📌 Are there limits on Bitcoin payments?
No. You can pay for a purchase on a foreign platform with any number of coins. There are no stores where you can pay with bitcoins in Russia in 2024.
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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.
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