7 of The Coolest Things You Can Buy with Bitcoin

When Satoshi revealed his infamous whitepaper back in 2008, he didn’t expect Bitcoin to earn the name of digital gold. That’s because bitcoin was never meant to be an investment vehicle, but a peer to peer version of electronic cash. It was meant to send money worldwide between two parties without the intervention of a financial authority.

Things were meant to be bought with bitcoin and sold in bitcoin. It wasn’t destined to end up in the hands of fresh-faced investors HODLing their stash of coins. There are few advisers out there who would tell you to go spend your stash right now. But if you want to buck the trend and actually use it as a currency, here are seven of the coolest things you can buy right now.

1. A Round-The-World Cruise

Assuming you’ve got enough bitcoins in your virtual wallet, you can spend them on a round-the-world cruise. And you’ve probably earned it after the roller coaster cryptocurrency year so far. Fancy a luxury trip to the Bahamas or a culture fix in Europe? You can get it all through Expedia. You can also pay for hotels, buy flights, and any of their other services in the exchange rate on the day.

Expedia teams up with Coinbase to make paying in bitcoin easier, and the dollar to bitcoin conversion is as accurate as possible. Your price quote is valid for a maximum of 10 minutes, after which point you’ll have to request a new one.

Despite bitcoin transactions being irreversible, should you repent after you spend, you can still seek a refund, but you won’t get digital funds back. So, if the value skyrockets after your purchase, you’ll have to suck it up in a champagne cocktail out on the open ocean.

2. An Apartment in Dubai

You may have seen the headlines earlier this year. A flutter of excitement rippled through the crypto community as young investors contemplated the possibilities. Buying a slice of real estate heaven in the world’s most luxurious city. Aston Plaza & Residences sold 50 apartments in bitcoin in February, but the rest are only available in fiat.

If you still want to get your hands on some real estate using bitcoin, it’s actually not just a passing fad, despite the volatility. The world’s first cryptocurrency is still gaining traction in the real estate industry, with a new report from Re/Max Action First hailing bitcoin as the perfect fit for the property market.

In fact, beyond wealthy property magnates with deep pockets in the UAE, some 37 homes have already been listed on realtor.com so far by sellers accepting bitcoin payment. That includes a small Kansas home and a multi-million-dollar Hawaii mansion.

3. A Political Scandal

If you like the thought of exposing corruption or seeing the rich and powerful squirm, you can donate your bitcoins to Wikileaks. Keep on reading Hillary’s emails, find out about espionage orders during the French elections, or simply support keeping an eye on Russia–your bitcoins and satoshi can help.

Despite the rather mysterious nature of its founder, Wikileaks is a registered non-profit and as such, you can give bitcoin as an in-kind donation. That means that you can help fund this controversial truth crusader–and write it off for tax purposes as well.

4. A College Education

Cumbria University in the United Kingdom became the world’s first public university to accept bitcoin as payment for tuition fees in 2014–and who said the British were resistant to change? They may not have been thrilled about the euro, but the UK is surprisingly bitcoin friendly.

So if you really want to spend your hard-earned bitcoins on furthering your education, there are a handful of other academic institutions globally that allow you to do that. The list includes Mexico’s Universidad de las Américas in Puebla and Switzerland’s Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

5. Sushi

Bitcoin may be dwindling as a payment method for everyday items, but you can still purchase your sushi with it in a few places around the world. Of course, you have pretty much no incentive to do so, other than showing your friends what an early adopter you are.  

And while Bitcoin has been declared dead as a currency almost 300 times, if that’s really the case, you may as well cash in your satoshi on sashimi.

6. Bath Bombs and Bubble Bars

If you want to lie back and relax in a bath full of bubbles, you can use your bitcoin to do so. The maker of bath bombs, bubble bars and all things delicious, Lush cosmetics, accepts bitcoin in payment for its products.

Finance Manager Mike West declared on their website last year, “Accepting Bitcoin is very exciting for Lush. With Bitcoin, customers from all around the world will pay the same for our products, free from volatile currency fluctuations and lofty bank charges.” Clearly, he was holding a bath ball, and not a crystal one, at the time.

7. A Diamond Ring

From digital gold to real gold, if you’re really hooked on living the high life you may as well go all out and get yourself or your partner a diamond ring. REEDS Jewelers is more than happy to accept your bitcoin as payment jewelry and watches, either online or in any of their 65+ stores in the United States.

Bitcoin-Purchased Bliss

They say money can’t buy you happiness, but maybe bitcoin can. From luxury travel to a soak in the tub, you can still buy quite a few things with bitcoin. But, as with any other article you read on the subject, you should properly assess the risks first.

Buying high-ticket items in volatile digital currency is not without its risks. So, while you hopefully won’t end up standing outside a property without the keys or the cash, it’s unlikely that a bank will be giving you a mortgage in bitcoin any time soon.