A curious user recently asked members of the Bitcoin subreddit how they spend their bitcoins on an everyday basis. Because Reddit is a global community, it's likely that their responses are reflective of overall patterns.
Here's how the bits are flowing today:
1. Coffee and Food Delivery – Couture coffee got a whole lot cheaper the day that Foldapp started offering 20% off Starbucks purchases. Redditors also use bitcoins for food delivery services like Foodler, Magic and Thuisbezorgd (Netherlands).
Word on the street is that Foldapp will soon add both Whole Foods and Target to its 20 % off list, making grocery store food as bitcoin-friendly as restaurant food.
2. Electronics and Phone Bills – Electronics retailers were among the first merchants to accept bitcoin. AdaFruit, Newegg, TigerDirect, Dell and FastTech are just a few.
Redditors also pay their phone bills with bitcoins using BitRefill or Neteller (the bitcoins-to-Mastercard service).
3. Overstock, Rakuten and Amazon – These online big-box stores substantially expand what's available for bitcoin. Overstock and Rakuten accept the cryptocurrency directly, while redditors use Purse.io to order through Amazon at a discount.
4. Flights and Hotels – AirBaltic accepts bitcoins directly for flights. Otherwise, flights on any major airline can be purchased through BTCTrip or Cheapair.
Redditors also use both Expedia and Cheapair to book hotel rooms.
5. Poker and Betting – One of bitcoin's first major uses was in online betting. Primedice, Seals with Clubs, and BitDice are among redditors' favorites. Betting and gaming have fused together with Leetcoin, where players wager on the outcomes of their League of Legends and Counter-Strike games.
6. Gyft and eGifter – Hundreds of retailers become accessible when you turn bitcoins into gift cards. Gyft and eGifter are used by redditors to purchase eBay, Groupon, and even American Airline gift cards. Both companies offer 3% back on all purchases.
7. Gaming – Xbox, Steam, Twitch.tv, and Eve Time Code games are among redditors' favorites. Discounts are frequently offered for purchases made in bitcoin.
8. Charity and Tipping – ChangeTip supports tipping on ten social networks: YouTube, Reddit, Disqus, and Twitter are among them. Redditors also report making donations to Wikipedia, Red Cross, Edward Snowden, AntiWar, and relief efforts such as the Nepal Great Quake.
9. Precious Metals – Sound money begets sound money, so many crypto users like their gold and silver, too. There are numerous ways to not only purchase physical metals for bitcoin, but to hold and trade them remotely, too.
10. Website Services and VPNs – Namecheap and DirectNic both offer domain name registration and website hosting for bitcoin. Redditors also report that they regularly purchase VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) from companies like Boleh, Mullvad, and Private Internet Access.
Aside from dropping their bits on the above options, many redditors also report saving the majority of their holdings. Lifestyle funding, retirement, and big purchases (like a Tesla Model S) were reported as the primary goals of saving.
How do you spend your bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies? Share below.