The purpose of a currency is to serve as a medium of exchange. This means that it should be used to buy goods and services, which is what most people think about when they think about the monetary system.
Currencies also act as a store of value, as gold does for example, but this article won’t concern itself with that aspect of money because it’s not particularly relevant for cryptocurrencies.
But even if we ignore these two functions and only consider the third one — being a medium of exchange — it’s clear that cryptocurrencies have had major challenges here.
Crypto is Being Accepted as Payment.
Crypto is being accepted as payment by merchants. It is becoming easier for consumers to buy goods and services with crypto. Crypto debit cards are gaining traction, making it even easier for people to spend their cryptocurrencies at the checkout counter.
Some merchants do not accept cryptocurrency payments because they do not want to go through the hassle of converting currency into fiat (government-backed) money or because they don’t trust it enough yet.
As a result, there are companies that allow merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments while still getting paid in fiat currency: these are known as crypto payment processors or gateways. Bitpay, Coinbase and Crypto.com offer this service.
Coffee Shops Accepting Cryptocurrency.
You can use cryptocurrency to buy coffee at these coffee shops:
- Starbucks
- Peet’s Coffee and Tea (a popular chain in the United States)
- Whole Foods Market (a grocery store chain that also sells prepared foods and beverages)
Crypto payment options include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, and Dogecoin. If you live near a city with an urban environment, there’s probably a place nearby that accepts crypto.
Overstock Accepts Cryptocurrency
Overstock.com is one of the few major online retailers to accept cryptocurrency. Founded in 1999, Overstock has been a pioneer in e-commerce since its inception. The company was the first retailer with an option for customers to pay using Bitcoin, and it’s remained at the forefront of this trend ever since.
While many cryptocurrencies are still not legal tender for everyday use—yet—they’re becoming increasingly popular as mediums of exchange across different industries as well as forms of investment by investors who see them as assets with increasing value over time.
The Reasons Some Merchants Do Not Accept Crypto
Even with the progress that has been made, still some merchants do not accept cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange. The reasons are many, but the most common ones include:
- Cryptocurrency is not stable enough.
- Cryptocurrency is too volatile and unpredictable.
- High transaction fees for merchants and consumers, make it impractical for everyday use.
- Low adoption rate across industries and countries, making it difficult to accept payments in cryptocurrency without losing money on fees (and potentially making your business appear outdated).
If you’re wondering why there aren’t more places where you can spend your coins, payment processors and crypto debit cards are changing things.
Online Payment Processors
Online payment processors are allowing merchants to accept cryptocurrencies as payment. Some online payment processors only allow merchants to accept cryptocurrency and do not allow other forms of online payment.
The crypto payment processors also allow shoppers to pay in crypto while the merchants receive the payment in fiat currency.
Crypto Debit Cards are Gaining Traction.
If you’re looking to be able to use cryptocurrencies in the real world, then crypto debit cards are a great way to do that. Crypto debit cards are linked to your crypto wallet and can be used anywhere that accepts Visa or MasterCard. They also come with low fees and provide a high level of security for your funds.
Crypto debit cards allow you to spend any cryptocurrency at any merchant or ATM worldwide without needing to convert it into fiat money first. You simply load up your account with the amount of crypto needed for each transaction, then make purchases online or offline as if you were using any other type of card. The service also facilitates the liquidating of huge amounts of crypto.
Many companies have already started producing this service, and the list includes Clubswan which offers physical cards that operate through an online portal. Others include Wirex UK Ltd., Cryptopay, Bitpay, Xapo, Tokencard, and Bitwala.
Crypto Debit Cards Allow Users to Spend Crypto at Stores That Take Mastercard or Visa.
Crypto debit cards are a relatively new product. Many of them have been around for only a few years, and they’re still not as widely used as traditional debit cards. But crypto debit cards allow you to spend your crypto at any store that takes Mastercard or Visa.
The way they work depends on what kind of card you get:
- Some companies issue both virtual and physical cards. You can use the virtual card online or via an app, and it looks just like a traditional credit or debit card, except that it has no numbers on the front (just some letters) and uses near-field communication technology (or NFC). The physical card works like an ordinary credit or debit card but is made out of metal—it usually has numbers printed on the front so that you don’t need to type in any security codes when you make payments at stores or restaurants. It’s worth noting that most crypto wallet services will let you register your account with them using either kind of physical card; however, if yours doesn’t accept this type yet then check with them before attempting to apply for one elsewhere!
- Other companies issue only electronic versions (.pdf format) – these tend towards being more secure since there’s less chance for fraud than with normal plastic ones which could easily get lost/stolen by hackers trying their best tricks such as phishing attacks etc…
Gift Cards With Crypto
Some apps allow users to buy gift cards with crypto and then spend the gift cards like cash. These apps include Gyft, eGifter, and Bitrefill. Gyft is a mobile app that lets you buy and sell gift cards using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies through their service.
eGifter is another app that allows you to purchase gift cards for stores like Amazon, Home Depot, Starbucks coffee shops, Sephora cosmetics stores, Apple Music subscriptions and much more with your cryptocurrency holdings!
Bitrefill offers over 200 merchants as well as direct billing for utilities such as electricity or cellular phone service with bitcoin or litecoin payments (among others).
It’s Becoming Easier
While cryptocurrencies are still a long way from being accepted as money by the general public, there are signs that it’s becoming easier for people to use cryptocurrency as an actual medium of exchange rather than a speculative investment in its future value.
For example, if you want to buy something with your cryptocurrency, and you’re using something like Clubswan or another service to convert it into fiat first, then yes: technically speaking, you’re not using crypto as money because you don’t hold onto your coins long enough before converting them into fiat currency.
But when you go through an exchange like Gemini or Kraken and trade directly between two cryptos (or tokens), without converting those cryptos into dollars first—that’s when we start talking about using crypto as money. That’s also called “crypto-to-crypto trading” or simply “spot trading.”
We should expect to see more and more companies accepting crypto as payment as it becomes easier for them and their customers.
