The world of cryptocurrencies is on the rise. Although they were born back in 2009 from the hand of bitcoin, it seems that not a day goes by that they are not talked about. Upon the announcement and subsequent withdrawal of accepting this virtual currency as a means of payment in Tesla, in February of this year, its ban is now added in China.
We already know on which platforms we can buy cryptocurrencies, the famous exchanges. But now it remains to be seen where we can spend them. And it is that although it seems that it is smoke, it is having more and more application in real life. In which shops can you buy bitcoin now?
The sectors in which you can buy with cryptocurrencies are very varied. From flight companies, hotel chains, casinos and betting houses, restaurants and cafes, travel agencies to companies in the textile, financial, IT, gaming sector, cosmetic stores and even hairdressers, as analyzed by Roams, a free web platform specialized in advising on financial matters.
One of the first travel portals that allowed the purchase of flight tickets or accommodation for a vacation was Destinia. Added to it is the reservation platform Travala, which has reached an agreement with Expedia and Booking to be able to offer its hotels on said platform, thus allowing its customers to pay for hotels with cryptocurrencies.
In airlines are the Virgin Galactic space flight company, as well as airlines such as Surf Air and CheapAir.
In the leisure sector there are online platforms such as 13 Tickets, dedicated to tourist experiences, which allows the purchase of tickets to visit the Bernabéu with bitcoin. Some homes can also be purchased with bitcoin on portals such as Fotocasa. And in the home field, you can buy mattresses in the Spanish startup, Morpheus.
In technology, there are rumors that the giant Microsoft accepts payment with bitcoin in its Xbox store. For its part, the computer manufacturer Dell allows payment with this cryptocurrency in its products. Shopify enables NFT sales in over a million ecommerce. Along the same lines, there are several VPN services and domains that can be contracted by paying with both bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
BBVA is also targeting cryptocurrencies
In the financial sector, BBVA It was the first entity in the euro zone to offer the sale of cryptocurrencies through its Swiss subsidiary. At the moment, in Spain it is not possible, but there is intention. However, it seems that the rest of Spanish banks do not dare for now with the world of digital currency.
Visa and Mastercard They have started their movements with some of the exchanges on duty. In this way, Visa users can pay with cryptocurrencies anywhere in the world as long as the merchant accepts Visa even if it does not allow cryptocurrency as a payment method. For its part, Mastercard has partnered with the cryptocurrency platform Criptan to launch the Criptan Card. With this card, users can pay using bitcoin, ethereum or litecoin at any physical and online establishment worldwide that accepts Mastercard.
Secondly, PayPal accepts bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, and ethereum as digital currencies for any transaction.
The investment industry has also joined the world of cryptocurrencies. Specifically, it is possible to invest in cryptocurrency futures in two funds from the US BlackRock, available in Spain.
Bitcoin has also found its way into casinos and bookmakers. Some of the names that allow cryptocurrency are Cloudbet, Fortunejack, Mbit Casino, Bitcasino, Bitcoingames or Rocketpot.
In cosmetics is the British company Lush. And in the automotive field, Tesla took a step forward when its CEO, Elon Musk, first announced the possibility of buying cars at his company with bitcoin, but then he backed off justifying the high energy consumption. In Spain, the Motoreto car sales platform is the first to allow cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
Traditional trading join Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency on the market today. In fact, this virtual currency has already reached the small trade. In big cities, like Madrid and Barcelona, there are already more than 150 establishments that accept the digital currency. But it also occurs on a smaller scale in capitals such as Valladolid. Here there are at least three establishments in the hairdressing and engineering sector that allow the payment of their products or services with bitcoin. Through the map coinmap.org it is possible to see which establishments allow cryptocurrencies as a payment method.
Cryptocurrency has spread to non-profit entities. There are several that have a cryptocurrency wallet among which are Save The Children or Internet Archive, among others. You can also make donations with this type of digital currency on Twitter or Wikipedia.
Gift cards are the best-selling cryptocurrency product worldwide. There are platforms that allow the purchase of these cards with cryptocurrencies such as Bitrefill or Gift Card for a multitude of national and international brands. And it is that with them you can get to buy up to more than 300 stores.
- Travel agency: Rumbo Spain, Inspire Travel Spain
- Accommodation: airbnb
- Dating app: Tinder
- DIY: DIY
- Hotel chains: Hotels.com, Hotelgift EUR, Global Hotel Card (card issued by Expedia), Hotelgift ES, Hotelgift USD
- Cinema: Kinépolis
- E-commerce: eBay
- Fast food: Burger King, Domino’s, Dunkin Donuts, Papa Johns, Taco Bell, Fridays
- Flight companies: Flight Gift USD, Flightgift EUR, AmericanAirlines, Delta
- Telephone companies: Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, MásMóvil Spain, Digimobil, Simyo, Lebara Spain, Lycamobile Spain, Lyca Internet Spain, Lyca Spain Package, Llamaya Móvil Spain
- Cosmetics: Sephora, Rituals, KIKO
- Online Coupons: Groupon
- Sport: Decathlon, Foot Locker, Nike, Adidas
- Digital distribution of apps: Google Play, App Store & iTunes
- Food delivery to home: Deliveroo, Uber Eats
- Gas stations: Cepsa
- Department stores: El Corte Inglés, Viajes El Corte Inglés
- Home: IKEA
- Entertainment: lastminute.com, Atrápalo, Ticketmaster, TripGift, TripGift EU
- Streaming platforms: Netflix EUR, Rakuten TV
- Computer programs: Office 365
- Gifts of experiences: Smartbox
- Mobile service: Viber USD
- Multimedia services: Spotify, Skype USD
- Online service: The Fork (restaurants), OpenCor (food, cosmetics, entertainment, gifts), FreeRange Mobile Travel Plan (travel), Reddit (news)
- Supermarkets: Carrefour, Hipercor, Supercor
- Multi-brand gift card: Idea Shopping
- Technology: Media Markt
- Textile: Zalando, H&M, Primark, Mango, Calzedonia, Sfera, GAP, Hollister
- Transportation: Uber, Flixbus
- Videogames: Nintendo, Xbox, Steam, PlayStation, GameStop and specific game cards such as Fortnite or Minecraft
The digital gold rush is evident. More and more people are joining this new form of payment. In Spain there is already 10% of the population that claims to use or possess cryptocurrencies, according to Statista. Somewhat far from the astonishing 42% that do so in Nigeria. There is still a long way to go and with the boom that this digital currency is taking, sooner rather than later it will become a more common method than we think.
Eduardo Delgado, CEO of Roams
