Bitcoin’s popularity only seems to grow. In the last year alone, it managed to hit its all-time high of 60,000 US dollars and convince many millionaires to invest in it, with Elon Musk leading the way. This sudden surge of fame that has fallen upon Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is truly an unprecedented event.
Whether you are a crypto believer or not, you may wonder how Bitcoin compares to other currencies regarding paying for goods. After all, it is not a fiat currency that you can put in your back pocket and use whenever you want. Although this question has been a thorn in every crypto fan’s side for a long time, the tide seems to change. There seems to be an upsurge of websites and companies that are slowly accepting payment in Bitcoins, including numerous shops, bitcoin slots, even big car companies. Here are some of the companies that decided to accept Bitcoin as a payment option.
Tesla
The world’s leading electric car maker, Tesla, has decided to accept Bitcoin as one of its payment options. This was an unexpected move that surely surprised many. It is a significant step towards the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency, which is something that every enthusiast and investor wants to see in the future.
The company’s CEO, Elon Musk, has chosen this opportunity to joke around with the crypto market, saying that Bitcoin is clearly “the currency of the future”. He also said that people who do not own Bitcoin are the ones who will be left behind. In his tweet, he even used the famous phrase from The Matrix movie, “If you take over the entire Earth, you have already won”.
Overstock
Overstock is another retail giant that decided to rely on crypto transactions. There are multiple reasons why this company decided to go ahead and accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. First of all, it represents a new source of profit for the company. More importantly, however, it helps improve the transparency of the business.
As Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne explained, “We want to promote a borderless economy where people can participate across national boundaries directly on our platform without having to convert money between currencies”.
PizzaForCoins
It may sound crazy at first, but the truth is that PizzaForCoins, a company that accepts Bitcoin for pizza deliveries, has been functioning for years now. The website has a simple interface that allows users to order pizza from local restaurants in exchange for Bitcoin. The orders are then paid for using BitPay. PizzaForCoins is a very successful business model that shows that crypto and pizza go very well together. After all, everyone loves pizza!
Payza
Payza is one of the world’s leading online payment services, and it recently announced that it will allow its members to make instant payments using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The users can transfer funds between their accounts using these new platforms, which can be exchanged for fiat currency immediately.
The exchange can be made through either Payza’s mobile app or their website. This will certainly help Payza improve its existing services and increase its popularity in the future.
CheapAir.com
This website is known for being one of the most prominent online travel agencies in the United States. CheapAir.com allows its customers to book their flights and hotels using Bitcoin or Litecoin. This way, they can avoid paying high transaction fees (up to 12 percent) that are imposed by credit card companies and banks.
CheapAir.com also offers its customers flight insurance as a bonus for those who decide to pay with cryptocurrency instead of fiat currency. The insurance costs only 0.5 percent of the plane ticket price and provides coverage in case of any cancellation or delay.
E-Gifter
This is a company that specializes in digital gift cards. The platform allows its users to purchase gift cards for their friends and family by paying with Bitcoin. E-Gifter was one of the first companies to embrace crypto payments, which will surely lead to an increase in their popularity in the future. The company is already planning to add other cryptocurrencies to its list of accepted payment methods.
Overstock.com
Another great example of a Bitcoin-accepting online retailer is Overstock.com. This company started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment in 2013, starting with just a customer service representative who processed all of the Bitcoin transactions by himself. Since then, however, Overstock has improved its services so that it can accept more payments using cryptocurrencies.
Overstock has also released a free API for developers who want to integrate Bitcoin payments into their websites or apps. This is a great way of encouraging more people to use cryptocurrencies, and we hope that other companies will follow Overstock’s example in the future.
Shopify
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows users to open their own online shops and sell products to customers from around the world. This company started accepting various cryptocurrencies as a form of payment in 2017 after recognizing the growing demand for this type of payment method. Shopify currently supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.
There aren’t many platforms that accept crypto payments for online shopping, so Shopify’s decision to join the market can truly revolutionize the traditional online commerce industry.
BitPay
BitPay is one of the most popular crypto payment processors in the world. It allows its users to accept Bitcoin payments from their clients and transfer the funds in fiat currency instantly. BitPay made headlines when it announced that it will start accepting Litecoin payments alongside Bitcoin ones during the end of 2017. The company decided to do this as a way of showing support for Litecoin’s potential as a global payments network and as a way of promoting LTC as a potential investment opportunity.
Conclusion: What Does the Future Hold for Crypto Payments?
The list above is far from comprehensive but it shows that there are lots of ways to pay with cryptocurrencies in real life. As you can see, many companies have already started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, and more are expected to join soon. In particular, popular online retailers, casinos, and credit card companies seem to be among the most interested parties at the moment.
As a result, this opens new doors for cryptocurrency adoption in general, which is something that every enthusiast should be excited about. The truth is that there are still many people around the world who haven’t heard about Bitcoin yet and who have no idea how it works. Now that many big companies have started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, we can expect this number to drop and more and more people start using cryptocurrency in their everyday life.
