Using cryptocurrency to shop is one of the most rewarding ways to engage in the market.
Whether the market is up or down, you can always immediately replace your crypto stash as a means to simply show the companies accepting cryptocurrency that you support it.
One way to shop online with cryptocurrency that won’t be discussed here is the crypto debit card. There are a lot of options, but they would require individual review. Open a debit card account is a personal financial decision which shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Best Way: Gift Cards
Some companies, like Gyft and eGifter, will give you a discount for spending cryptocurrencies.
They increase their profits when decentralized currencies are used.
Through a combination of both sites, you can basically do anything you would with fiat currency using Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, or really any cryptocurrency if you use a coin-swapping service such as CoinSwitch.co or ShapeShift.io.
Amazon: Purse.io
The absolute best use of your Bitcoin when shopping online, however, has to be Purse.io, at least for things you like to buy on Amazon.
That definition varies from person to person. Some buy most of their household and other goods on Amazon.
In either case, you can save up to 30% using Purse.io by paying in Bitcoin.
Purse.io is a sort of marketplace where Amazon Turk workers go to redeem their otherwise illiquid Amazon credit.
In many parts of the world, Amazon either doesn’t deliver or won’t issue bank payments through its Mturk.com remote worker site.
As a result, a huge amount of money is continually locked up in Amazon credit.
These workers are thus willing to pay a premium to convert their credit into Bitcoin, which is the premise of Purse.
Overstock and Beyond
A growing number of companies, including Overstock and Newegg, accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Any company that uses Bitpay or Coinbase’s commerce tools can accept at least Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. As we said above, you can quickly get into either one using a site like Changelly, CoinSwitch, or ShapeShift.
Some crypto-accepting sites even have the conversion feature built-in as part of an agreement with any of the above-listed exchanges.
Hodling and Spending
Just because you feel deeply invested in cryptocurrency doesn’t mean you can’t use it to shop.
As we said, if you feel that you’re losing something when you spend your crypto on goods, then replenish the amount you spend immediately.
In this way, you contribute to the crypto economy in multiple ways, while often saving money on your purchases.
The 15-30% you can save at Purse.io, for example, offsets the costs associated with re-acquiring the BTC you spend.
