The Weird and Wonderful World of Bitcoin Purchases

A lot of people are under the misconception that you can’t actually buy anything with cryptocurrencies, their lack of usability even prompted the Treasury Committee to refer to them as “Crypto-assets”. Having said this, Bitcoin has been used for a range of strange purchases over the years and the sectors progression is making it easier and easier to use such digital currencies as a means of exchange.

Here are some of the more notably odd and intriguing purchases made using Bitcoin over the years.

1) Pizza

Potentially the most recognised purchase amongst the crypto-sphere is the tale of a pizza sale made back in early 2010. A Florida based programmer, Laszlo Hanyecz, purchased 2 large pizzas from Papa Johns for an incredible 10,000 BTC, which at the time equated to just $30. As one of the first ever sales using Bitcoin, the purchase has gone down in history and some of the crypto-community have even gone as far as celebrating May 22nd as Bitcoin Pizza Day.

2) A University Degree

There is a massive lack of understanding surrounding cryptocurrencies and the sector could really benefit from more educational actions. In fact, the University of Nicosia in Cyprus are assisting the transformation as they became the first university to accept tuition payments in the form of Bitcoin. They offer a master’s degree in digital currencies and have taken several measures to make the course proposition more attractive. The first class is free and the $14,500 total course costs are 5% cheaper if you pay via digital currencies.

Since the 2017 cryptocurrency boom, there has been an increasing number of universities offering such payment options and a growing number of students filling them.

3) Luxury Cars

Lambos have long been associated with cryptocurrencies as an iconic goal for profiteers, however, few ever fulfil the dream. Successful entrepreneur, Peter Saddington, is one of the rare investors to make the extravagant purchase and it only cost him $115. Having bought Bitcoin back in 2011 for just $2.52 he was able to buy the $200M Lamborghini Huracan (45 BTC at the time) from the monumental value gains. The purchase was made back in October 2017 and was paid for entirely in crypto, a very well-timed purchase given the recent market drops.

Car dealerships are now a lot more welcoming of the new digital currencies and there are now quite a few open to the alternative payment option.

4) Ticket to Space

Blockchain and cryptocurrency advocate, Richard Branson, is now offering payments to his Virgin Galactic space expedition to be paid for in Bitcoin. Wealthy crypto investors willing to spend hundreds of Bitcoin can now bag themselves a seat on the luxury space flight and unsurprisingly there have been several wealthy uptakers of the offer. In fact, the out-of-world experience was embarked on by the famous internet entrepreneurs and cryptocurrency devotees, the Winklevoss twins, amongst numerous others.

5) Mammoth Tusks

One of the more unusual offers on the list is a pair of woolly mammoth tusks. Back in 2014, a man from Vancouver attempted to sell his prized possession for the grand price of 265 BTC. The roughly 9 feet long mammoth tasks that weighed 120lbs each were available on potentially the first ever Bitcoin luxury marketplace known as BitPremier. It is unknown whether the sale was made or not, but if it was, the merchant would have pocketed roughly $1M at today’s exchange rates.

6) Goats

Surprisingly, this is not a one-off wacky purchase. Somalia is known for its freewheeling economy and a large portion of its currency in circulation are considered fake. The region is a global leader in the exporting of goats and sheep and roughly 40% of the country’s gross domestic product comes from livestock trade. As a result, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are considered relatively stable given the hyperinflation of the nation’s fiat currency, and start-ups such as Ari.Farm are turning to a tech-powered livestock market. Despite our list of extremely bizarre and unnecessary purchases, cryptocurrencies do have some great use applications as a currency.

7) Subway Sandwiches

Currently, there are very few merchants who have adopted cryptocurrencies as a payment option. Having said this, the 3rd most value fast-food brand in the world, Subway, has seen some branches accepting the alternative payment option as far back as 2013. Crypto enthusiast, Andrew Torba, documented his process of paying for the sandwich roughly 5 years ago and shared the experience online which received a mass of attention from the crypto-sphere. Since then the fast-food chain has also reportedly accepted other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin.

8) Luxury Apartments

From penthouses in Panama to apartments overlooking the seafront in Australia, you can buy some extraordinary pieces of real-estate with Bitcoin. Bitcoin-realestate.com showcases some awesome properties for sale that can only be bought with Bitcoin. The houses that stretch well into the millions live up to Bitcoins luxury reputation.

9) A Triple-Decker Yacht

Delving even further into indulgent purchases. The earlier mentioned luxury marketplace BitPremier, founded by GE Capital VP Alan Silbert, can be used to purchase a range of luxury yachts. Some listed on there as large as 120-feet long and three tiers high. Not only are the yachts strictly for purchase in Bitcoin, but they are also going for extremely discounted rates. The above-mentioned vessel was on offer for an equivalent of $6.3M with similar mega yachts going for prices closer to $30M.

10) Paradise

If a triple-decker yacht wasn’t ridiculous enough, how about your own personal paradise. There is a heap of dream land plots available online and in some cases, whole islands, many of which are only accepting Bitcoin. A recent case which hit the headlines was a 13-acre plot of land on Union Island, complete with an airport that links it to other islands nearby. Last year the place was being auctioned for 600 BTC at a time which neared the cryptocurrencies all-time-high.

The Evolution of Payments

This list highlights some of the cool, weird and obscure purchases that have, and can, be made using Bitcoin; but despite the strange examples listed above, Bitcoin is increasingly being used for more regular purchases. The sector is progressing incredibly quickly and projects are constantly overcoming the current challenges faced by the crypto sector.

Plutus is a payments platform that utilizes cryptocurrencies and makes them usable at everyday stores. This is achieved by seamlessly converting the crypto into usable fiat before it is received by the merchant, an approach that overcomes the slow process of merchant adoption and one that encourages mass usage. If you are interested in finally utilizing your cryptocurrency for payments then take a look here, our project has already got some working services available to the public and some impressive upgrades in the pipeline.