There is a lot of talk about cryptocurrencies being the future of the international financial markets due to the widespread individual use and market volume they generate. At the time of developing this blog, Bitcoin boasts a huge market capitalization of $661.16B – that’s enormous! Though the cryptocurrency market has seen some dip in value in the later months of 2021, the global crypto market capitalization is still close to $2T! All financial market indicators point to the fact that cryptocurrency is the currency for the future.
There is a saying that goes thus, “morning shows the night.” Many financial market spectators and analysts alike believe that since Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are said to be the future, there should be sure encouraging signs for the future. Even though cryptocurrency has not received worldwide adoption, it has made significant steps. On September 7, 2021, El Salvador became the first country to accept bitcoin as a legal tender. We also do not want to forget that many giant companies are starting to invest in crypto assets. MicroStrategy, a business analytics company, is a lead advocate of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies – it has a primary reserve asset holding 124,391 BTC as of December 2021. Tesla, the renowned electric car company, is a significant Bitcoin holder; over 1 billion dollars worth of Bitcoin. Tesla and MicroStrategy are not the only bitcoin investors, there is also Box Inc., Galaxy Digital Holdings, and a host of others. More so, cryptocurrencies are starting to get adopted by some retail outlets, making it even more feasible for worldwide adoption.
Now the big question. Having exposed us to the reality of cryptocurrencies being the future, where can you use them as a retail holder of cryptos? In particular, as the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin can be used to purchase items directly from some retailers and purchase gift cards. First, let’s check out some major retailers that accept crypt off. Retailers like Microsoft Xbox Store, Starbucks, Home Depot, Fold App, and Overstock accept Bitcoin and other cryptos for use on their platforms. If you plan to buy bitcoin, try checking the Swyftx site.
You could also use cryptocurrencies to purchase retailers’ gift cards like Walmart, Amazon, eBay, Steam, Airbnb, and others on the Coingate platform. Let’s briefly take you through the benefits of using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to purchase gift cards.
Using bitcoin to buy gift cards gives you a membership to a particular retail store. You get additional benefits like free shipping without any minimal order and free shipping as well. There are also retail stores that offer carrier pickup, which presents you the opportunity to schedule a return for a product bought online, in-store, or from a third-party vendor using gift cards; Walmart offers carrier pickup.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies also present you with the opportunity to purchase food using gift cards purchased with cryptos. Just Eat, and Uber Eats are top examples of retail food outlets that accept gift cards purchased with bitcoin.
You could also use bitcoin to buy accommodation gift cards. Accommodation agencies like Esso, Hotels.com, Grab, Air Canada, and the likes sell gift cards valid for booking accommodations in whichever country you travel to. These gift cards can be bought using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
You can also use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payment cards and mobile phone credits. There are many electronic gift cards for payment cards such as Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and many more. In addition, there are cryptocurrency platforms where you can buy gift cards or some payment cards using the crypto payment options. These platforms usually offer up to 50+ crypto options, so you do not have to be restricted to Bitcoin.
You could also use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to buy mobile phone credits like Mobile, AT&T, and Vodafone.
You could also use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for financial trading, peer-to-peer(p2p) trading, and spot trading. This option allows you to use your crypto to make more money rather than spend it to purchase items. For spot trading, you could buy a particular cryptocurrency and trade it against another, let’s say BTC against ETH; you could either sell your BTC for ETH or otherwise, depending on market analysis. You could also trade cryptocurrencies using candlesticks patterns to determine when you sell or buy. There is also an option to hold your cryptocurrencies for long periods to see meteoric rises.
The facts speak for themselves: cryptocurrencies present a vast array of financial opportunities to humans. Long gone are the days when cryptocurrencies are a thing of mystery and abstract. With it, you can change your financial story for generations to come. Crypto is everywhere, it is the future, and many financial breakthroughs would be seen with it. You would only be taking your opportunity to get financial independence by using crypto.
