There’s a clear chicken-and-egg scenario when you attempt to launch a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. On one hand, you’ve got an excellent alternative to fiat money that could pave the way for a society free of governments meddling in people’s finances. On the other hand, in order for a commodity (or quasi-commodity) currency to gain legitimacy and momentum, there is a need for merchants and the free market to start accepting it as a valid form of payment.
There are many incentives for merchants to accept Bitcoin payments – almost no commissions and fees would be a good place to start – but change has always been slow to roll out, especially when it affects a business’s bottom line (regardless of whether it’s a positive or negative effect). Luckily for Bitcoin wallet owners, things are moving in the right direction, with new merchants and organizations joining the Bitcoin marketplace every day. Just yesterday, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, a non-profit organization became one of the first organizations to accept Bitcoin donations (via BitPay) in support of medical research.
Today we’ll look at the Top 30 merchant sites that accept Bitcoin payments. Never again will you be at a loss for words when your friend asks “But what can you do with Bitcoin?”
(Protip: Click on the headers to visit the merchant’s website.)
- The TOR Project
The organization behind TOR (the browser that hides your browsing habits from prying eyes), the TOR Project is a non-profit, anonymity-focused research project that accept donations in the form of Bitcoin payments.
- WordPress
Most of the features offered at WordPress.com – the world’s most used CMS – are free, but they also offer paid upgrades for those wanting to customize their blog (such as registering a custom domain or buying themes), and they’ve been accepting Bitcoin payments for these upgrades since November 2012.
Everybody’s favorite news aggregation website Reddit allows users to purchase Reddit Gifts or Reddit Gold (which unlocks special features on the website) using Bitcoin.
- 4chan
4chan is an image board where users post images and leave comments anonymously. In December 2012, 4chan administrators introduced the 4chan Pass feature that disables the need to enter a CAPTCHA whenever a user posts a comment or starts a thread, which you can pay for using Bitcoin.
- Overstock
Overstock.com is a huge online retailer offering various products in a wide range of categories. Similar to Amazon.com but with one main difference: you can purchase items using Bitcoin.
- NewEgg
From computer parts to cameras and sporting goods, NewEgg’s got it all, and you can pay for it using everybody’s favorite cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
- OK Cupid
“[OK Cupid uses] math to get you dates, and [Bitcoin uses] math to make transactions secure,” said OK Cupid CEO Sam Yagan. Want to keep your subscription costs to the world-famous dating website off your credit card transaction logs? With Bitcoin, you can.
- Namecheap
Namecheap.com is a domain registration service that offers Bitcoin as one of its payment choices.
- Dell
This well-known manufacturer of workstations and laptops, accepts Bitcoin when purchasing products and services from their site.
- MEGA
Mega offers 50GB of free cloud storage, with end-to-end encryption and secure collaboration. Users can upgrade to 4TB with a premium subscription fee, which they can pay for using Bitcoin.
- Expedia
This travel search and booking engine announced in 2014 that it started accepting Bitcoin payments for hotel reservations.
- The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is one of the world’s largest bit torrent tracking services, providing a huge database of torrents for anything from MP3s to Movies. They accept donations via Bitcoin. (The link in the header for this entry takes you to a DuckDuckGo results page as the official URL for The Pirate Bay is changed regularly due to the nature of the site).
- EZTV
Considered a one-stop shop for all your TV-show-watching needs, EZTV.it started accepting Bitcoin donations in 2013.
- Babble Tees
BabbleTees.com is a service that allows users to customize and order a t-shirt, then pay for it using Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin Webhosting
This website offers web hosting services (shared hosting, VPS and dedicated servers), that can be paid for with Bitcoin. Especially useful if privacy is your primary concern.
- Carved
Carved make some of the coolest Apple, Samsung and Nexus cases out of wood. They proudly accept Bitcoin, too.
- New Mexico Tea Company
Is tea your thing? Then the New Mexico Tea Company might want to have a word with you about some of the world’s best herbal blends.
- Refund Retriever
One of the latest additions to the Bitcoin marketplace, Refund Retriever is a shipment auditing service provider that helps customers claim UPS & FedEx late package refunds and solve shipment billing invoice mistakes.
- We Do Stands
If you’re interested in buying a stand for display in your store, WeDoStands.com has what you need, and they accept Bitcoin as payment for their products.
- Dragon’s Tale
One of the many Bitcoin casinos available online, Dragon’s Tale adds an MMORPG aspect to the genre. Cool.
- Shopify
While not technically a marketplace that accepts Bitcoin in and of itself, all merchants using Shopify to sell their products have the opportunity to accept Bitcoin payments.
- AliExpress
Here’s another huge online retailer, this time more akin to Ebay than Amazon, that also accepts Bitcoin payments.
- Wrap Bootstrap
Need themes for your bootstrap-based website but need to pay with Bitcoin? Look no further.
- Cooperatize
This website sells content, blog posts and stories to businesses wanting to engage their customers and readers, and you can pay with Bitcoin for their services.
- Devenia
This internet marketing and SEO expert company started accepting Bitcoin for their services after figuring out that their “international customers are annoyed by the high fees they have to pay when they pay invoices from [Devenia] with a bank transfer”.
- Infiniti Poker
The “world’s most entertaining and interactive online poker site” figured out that what their users want to do with their money is play poker not mess around with bank transfers and exorbitant fees.
- RE/MAX London
RE/MAX London became the world’s first real estate agency to accept bitcoin payments for real estate, in February 2015.
- Arbvestor
This webservice helps people make money through sports arbitrage investments. This entails a person betting on a sports event by placing bets on different websites for all outcomes… if the total earnings exceed the amount the person bets, then the person making the bet is guaranteed a profit.
- Super Human Project
From anti-aging drugs to fat burning supplements, the Super Human Project store has what you need.
- CryptoVPN
CryptoVPN helps you stay anonymous online by encrypting your wi-fi signal and rerouting your internet connection through servers they control. Their subscription fees can be paid for with Bitcoin.
