How To Spend Bitcoins Online
If you have Bitcoin or you’re looking to get involved with the ever-growing new-age digital currency, then there are plenty of ways where you can spend your Bitcoins online and offline. Probably many more than you might imagine. If you want to spend your Bitcoins in the UK, then our directory of where to spend Bitcoins in the UK is a great start to help you.
A while back, when Crypto-currencies were gaining ground, it was more difficult to spend them online aside from trading, buying and selling. There were fewer retailers willing to accept this method as it was new and unknown. Thankfully, times have changed; however, you still need to have a good look to find places to spend Bitcoins online, which really is our aim of this websites, to help you easily find retailers and online websites that accept Bitcoin as a payment method.
Whilst Bitcoin and Crypto is ever-growing, so are we. We are regularly updating new places to spend Bitcoin in our full directory, so make sure you check back. Have a look around and dive right in to find where to can spend your Bitcoins online in the UK - and around the world!
How Can I Spend Bitcoin Online?
In some ways, paying for products and services with bitcoin is similar to sending an email, except that instead of sending a message to a particular email address, you’re sending an amount of digital money to a bitcoin address. One of the perks about using Bitcoin to pay for things is that it’s pretty private, you don’t need to give out too much personal information.
All you need to do really is to give your name and address if you’re purchasing physical goods. If it’s a digital online item, then your email will usually suffice, and if you’re making a donation which is a popular way of supporting charities, then you may not need to provide any information at all.
When it comes to the crunch, actually spending your Bitcoins online is quite easy. For those not yet used to the process, it can be a little daunting, but after you’ve done it once, you’ll soon realise that it’s a piece of cake. Since there are many different Bitcoin wallets you can use, some processed may vary slightly. Let’s say you want to purchase something you see online, like a gift card for example. After you provide the required information, rather than asking for a credit card number, the website will display the bitcoin payment information which will consist of at least one of the following:
- A link to "Sign in to” (the Bitcoin wallet you’re using)
- A QR Code
- A Bitcoin address (long code with letters and numbers)
- At this stage, the process may differ slightly depending on the type of bitcoin wallet you're using however these are the main types you will encounter.
It’s quite a straightforward process, especially if you scan the QR code. Naturally, scanning a QR code is much easier on mobile decides and tablets, however, if you don't have this to hand, then using a Bitcoin address is simple to use too.
Where Can I Spend My Bitcoins?
Now that you have your Bitcoins, it's time to go and spend them! More and more retailers and merchants are accepting Bitcoins as well as other alternative coins as a way to pay for your goods. This is one of the reasons why we set up this website; to help you find safe and legitimate retailers and online business in one place, where you'll be able to spend your Bitcoins online. They’ll happily take them off of your hands in return for something you want to buy, just the same if you were using a traditional method.
If you own a company accepting Cryptocurrencies and wish to be added to this website, please get in touch with us on our Contact us page. If you’re a consumer and you want to tell us about where you’ve been spending your Bitcoins, feel free to let us know too. The way we see it, the more places we can list, the better!
Buy Gift Cards With Bitcoin UK
Whilst we’re happy to list most companies on HowToSpendBitcoins.com a lot of our listings concentrate of Bitcoin Giftcards, travel sites which accept Bitcoin, flights and hotels that you can pay for with Bitcoin and also online Entertainment companies which accept Bitcoin, including sports betting, movie rentals, gaming and casino.
Buying Giftcards with Bitcoin is a popular way to shop online using your Bitcoin or Altcoins. The process is simple and there’s plenty of choice no matter if you want to buy clothes, electrical items, holidays or even your weekly shopping! There are a couple of fantastic Giftcard retailers which accept Bitcoins in the UK that will make your life easy if you want to shop and buy things online with Bitcoin. Our page about Bitcoin Giftcards explains how easy it is to get started!
Where to Buy Bitcoins: Exchanges
Great if you have Bitcoins or any Alt currencies for that matter, but what if you haven’t? No problem, as there is plenty of ways where you can buy Bitcoin. The easiest way to get involved is by signing up to a bitcoin wallet service. You can also “mine” Bitcoin by using a supercomputer, however whilst it's worth mentioning, it really an unrealistic option for most people – but using a third-party service is far simpler and easier. Some of the most popular Bitcoin wallet options are Coinbase, Blockchain.info and BitPay, all of which can be used on both desktop and mobile.
To get started, you need to sign up as you would sign up to any website. Enter your name and email address and set a password to get started. After that, it’s time to connect your bank account, debit card or credit card.
Security tip from us: make sure that you use two-factor authentication to secure your account, but don’t use your phone number or SMS for this. Why? after some research, we found that according to security researchers, hackers only need to know your name and number in order to steal from your bitcoin wallet. Google Authenticator seems to be a popular choice as is YubiKey, both of which and can be downloaded to your phone from the App Store or Google Play. Also, make sure you write down any prompted back up keys of backup codes/phrases in the event that you forget your password.
Once you're happy with your Bitcoin wallet, you're now set to start investing in Bitcoin. Once you’ve established how much traditional money you’re willing to invest, complete your exchange through the wallet service, following their instructions on screen. This is basically how you buy Bitcoins but for a more detailed look, you can read our How to Buy Bitcoins page which has much more information available.