Crypto is an increasingly popular form of investment globally. Still, many stores and merchants haven't embraced crypto as a direct payment method, so people are pushed to look for alternatives. You can take your assets and load them onto crypto cards, convert your crypto to bank transfers, or just buy gift cards for your crypto. So, how to spend your crypto in real life? Deposit crypto to your wallet, then order a crypto card and load it with crypto, then you can connect the card to your Apple or Google Pay, and pay with your card in stores for whatever you need in day to day life.
Use Your Crypto Wallet Like a Bank Account
Despite over half a billion people owning cryptocurrencies globally, only a fraction of them use their assets in the real world: according to various surveys, only 1-2% of the adult population actually do something more with their crypto assets other than trading. The majority is missing out on something big. Did you know that you can actually use your crypto wallet like a regular bank account? You can store funds as crypto, send and receive crypto, and even use it in everyday life by loading it onto a crypto card and then using Google or Apple Pay, or withdrawing cash from an ATM. The difference? You are the one in control of your funds and not the institution.
We at PlasBit act as the bridge between crypto and regular payments made in USD, EUR, or any local currency. By using your card, you can pay at any merchant’s store that accepts 'regular money', and it works just like any other payment card. Just to dismiss another urban legend: no, no one knows you loaded the card with crypto and then actually paid with crypto.
This is in rhyme with PlasBit’s mission as well: to connect crypto to regular, everyday life.
Getting a PlasBit Crypto Card in a Breeze
If you’re ready to put your crypto assets to real-world use, you can pick up a PlasBit crypto card that does the job perfectly. Here’s how to do it in 9 simple steps.
Step 1: Create a PlasBit account or log in if you already have one. Once you’ve logged in, head to the Wallet section.
Step 2: Deposit your preferred cryptocurrency using the given address and QR code. You can currently pick from a pool of 43 various cryptocurrencies.
Step 3: Head over to the Cards section, pick your preferred card, and select "Get this card". Pay attention to the Card Issuance Fee, Loading Fee, and Monthly Fee.
Step 4: Choose the wallet you want to pay with to issue the card. Pay attention to the terms and conditions on the right, check the terms and conditions box. Please note that the issuance fee is only for ordering the card, and it won’t come with any pre-loaded balance. Once done, click submit.
Step 5: Revisit the cards section, and expand the "Open Details" bit. Navigate to the Funding tab and choose from which wallet you wish to deposit funds. Click "Load" and then "Submit" once you’re sure the amount is correct.
Check the details and make sure everything is correct, then click ‘Submit’
Step 6: Click on ‘View card details’, and insert the verification code sent to your email. Click ‘Submit.’
You will see your card number, expiry date, and CVV.
Step 8: Use your new card by adding it to Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Now your card should be almost ready for use. In case you want to add your PlasBit card to Apple Pay, read this guide, and if you’d like to use it with Google Pay, this guide is for you.
Buying Everyday Items with Crypto
While the majority of folks still don’t use crypto for buying everyday items, there are a lot of providers who accept direct crypto payments. If you are still wondering how to spend crypto in your real life, we picked some of the stuff you can get with crypto:
Food and groceries
Hungry and not sure what to eat? In tech-friendly cities like SF, Austin, Toronto, Berlin, or even Lisbon, you’ll find cafés, restaurants, and smaller chains that accept direct crypto payment, often via QR codes and apps like BitPay or BTCPay Server. While large food delivery platforms don’t yet accept direct crypto payments, some independent eateries and local services might do in certain areas. Menufy went big a few years ago in the USA, accepting crypto payments in over 400 restaurants and from 100 different wallets, but users lately reported that most establishments have pulled the alternative offering from their payment options.
Video games and digital content
Next-gen platforms like Ultra let you use their native currency, UOS, for in-game purchases. Alternatively, you can swap tokens between their own blockchain and the Ethereum network. Blockchain gaming ecosystems like Immutable and Gala Games enable in-game and NFT purchases using crypto. Other companies like Humble Bundle operate on a pay-what-you-want model: you could buy books, video games, and software using crypto. Unfortunately, they recently discontinued their crypto payment options, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for their potential re-enabling in the future.
Travel and experiences
If you’re planning your next trip and want to book your flight or even accommodation, you might do it all using your crypto assets. Travala takes care of your trip, lodging, and experiences: you can use your crypto directly for your reservations. Cheapair is a pioneer in accepting crypto for trips: they were the first to make BTC an official payment method back in 2013, and today, you can book flights at over 500 airlines. Industry leaders like Airbnb or Booking.com are lagging behind: direct crypto payments are not possible, and gift cards are not widely available either.
Electronics
If you’re a tech lover, you can go full crypto with your purchases. On Newegg, you can use BitPay and pay with over a dozen different cryptocurrencies for your new laptop, phone, or other gadget. If you’re located in the UK, you can pick up your latest hardware at scan.co.uk, as they also accept direct BTC payments.
Luxury items
Want to pick up a shiny Rolex or a chic Louis Vuitton bag? A one-stop shop for all luxury products is bitdials.eu: here you can pick up watches, jewelry, accessories, and even precious metals, exclusively for crypto. Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry is a first-hand, authorized retailer especially for watches and delicate jewelry items. Among other currencies, they also accept direct Bitcoin payments.
Buying everyday items can still be tricky, but as you can see, almost every industry has at least a handful of players that accept direct crypto payments.
Why Use Crypto Instead of Fiat Money?
The perks of buying everyday items with crypto go well beyond the novelty factor or the hype. Let us give you our top reasons for using crypto over fiat to decide how to spend crypto in your real life:
- Fraud protection. Unlike traditional payment methods, crypto transactions don’t involve sharing sensitive personal or banking information. Imagine you’re buying that shiny Rolex online: instead of typing your card number, CVV, billing address, and so on, you just send the exact amount from your crypto wallet. If there’s any scammer lurking about, there’s no way they can snatch any sensitive data. And why? When you accidentally shop on a fake website and enter your credit card details, it’s game over. The scammer has all the access they need. But when you use crypto, there are no credit card details, and when you buy something, you just sign a transaction from your wallet and send it to their address.
- Privacy. Your wallet is pseudonymous, so it’s not connected directly to your identity. Your name, address, credit card details, and other sensitive information remain hidden because you never need to share them. Forget leaving a digital breadcrumb when making any payment online: when paying with crypto, your spending history won’t be sold to advertisers. Also, since your personal data remains hidden, there’s no way any of it would be exposed in data breaches.
- Financial independence. Imagine you live in a country struggling with hyperinflation (like Argentina). You’re about to start your career as a developer by completing remote gigs. Do you ask for payments in pesos or in crypto? Carrying your assets in stablecoins like USDT protects you from the chaotic economic situation around you while you can still purchase local goods easily. Another huge pro is that you can earn money for your work in crypto without opening a bank account, waiting for wire transfers, or a middleman taking their cut.
- Global accessibility. Borderless payments are lightning fast, and there’s no one slowing the process. A gamer in Toronto can pay for a DLC to a German-based company, avoiding conversion fees or delays. A tourist can pay for their sushi in Tokyo using a QR code and paying by BTC - no hassle with foreign cash or horrid bank fees for withdrawal.
This Is How You Spend Crypto Like Fiat
If you’re tired of purchasing gift cards or limited use of your crypto while shopping, or just simply got confused about how to spend crypto in your real life, there’s a way to make things smoother. You can spend crypto like fiat by depositing crypto to your wallet, then order a crypto card and load it with crypto, then you can connect the card to your Apple or Google Pay, and pay with your card in stores for whatever you need in your day to day life.
Of course, you need to watch out for a couple of things. Firstly, price volatility is a thing: your spending power will change depending on your cryptocurrency’s value. This can be easily fixed by loading stablecoins onto your crypto card. Also, watch out for spending limits and exchange fees - at PlasBit, we present this information very clearly so that you know everything before even buying the card. All issuers and crypto card providers should openly communicate these limitations, so just be sure you’re aware of them to avoid disappointment.
Be Your Own Bank to Take the Power Back
In Argentina, anyone born in the past decades grew up there in economic uncertainty. The local currency was pegged to the US dollar for a decade, and following an economic crisis, the peso dipped. If you’re Argentinian, you’re facing a downward spiral: any money you earn is worth less and less, and you can’t escape either, as your local currency is worth nothing compared to the more stable foreign ones. Your only way out? Be your own bank and take control.
If you keep your assets in crypto, you’re suddenly looking at a failing system from the outside. Your crypto wallet is unaffected by hyperinflation, political instability, or economic turmoil. You suddenly have a global reach: you can get paid in crypto for gigs and buy anything with crypto online. No restrictions, no centralized control by your country’s banking system.
If you live in a place where bank accounts are not widespread (and that’s pretty much the case for 1.7 billion people around the globe), you still have access to crypto and can pay for goods and services without hassle. Withdrawals are also simpler and safer. The chances are slim that you can’t complete a payment because there’s no one to prevent you from doing it. Banks might review your transactions, halt them, or even reverse them, but when you use your crypto wallet, you are truly your own bank.
That’s the kind of freedom PlasBit promises: it gives you complete control of your finances. All you need is your crypto wallet and crypto card: you decide when, where, why, and how to spend crypto in your real life. You don’t need to have a bank account, and you don't need to report to anyone but yourself. No one’s checking in on your spending, no one’s nagging you with insurance offers, and there’s simply no one meddling with your transactions. It’s like soundproofing your finances: no banks buzzing, no agents knocking at your door, just quiet and unshakeable autonomy.
How to Pay in Bitcoin and Achieve Self-Sovereignty
So you have been making clever investments using dollar cost averaging, HODL’d by the book, and now you’re wondering how to spend crypto in your real life, say, for your upcoming vacation. And how to pay in Bitcoin? You can deposit Bitcoin to your exchange wallet, go to the Cards section to buy a crypto card and load it with the Bitcoin, then connect it to your Apple or Google Pay and use it to pay in stores or online.
That’s basically it: you are now free to book a flight, pick your lodging, find eateries, buy souvenirs, you name it. The moment you have your crypto card linked up to your Apple Pay or Google Pay, you technically erase all the difficulties that sometimes come when trying to pay with crypto.
Self-Sovereignty: The Power Is With You
Self-sovereignty means that you have full power over your money and your decisions. No banks, centralized institutions, governments, policy makers, or other gatekeepers could get involved: you have complete authority over your finances. External interference is all but locked out. From a more philosophical standpoint, self-sovereignty proposes that everyone has complete freedom and power to make their own decisions without being controlled by anyone else.
Crypto enables self-sovereignty because:
- It offers a predictably scarce money supply. You’ll always know how much BTC exists. You can’t just print more to battle inflation or bail out banks.
- It is decentralized. There are no banks, governments, or CEOs calling the shots. Crypto runs on code, consensus, and math.
- It allows us to keep our assets without any interference. Banks can’t freeze your account, and your government won’t seize your funds either. Self-custody means that crypto is always accessible and always yours.
- It is the new gold standard. The king of tangible store of value has been gold for centuries. Crypto has the same perks and more: it’s portable, divisible, and verifiable.
- It is borderless. It doesn’t matter where you were born or where you live now. Crypto is 24/7 around the globe: no borders, banking hours, or international fees prevent the free flow of it. It’s the polar opposite of the stock market: it doesn’t close at the end of the working day and is not affected by centralized institutions.
- It is resilient. There’s no single weak point on the blockchain: no central server takedown or master switch to flip. Traditional systems can be crippled by outage or breach, but crypto networks are designed to survive, adapt, and persist. Even a 51% attack that temporarily could take over a blockchain is not a major risk to currencies like BTC: it can cause momentary delays on the network, but eventually it’s too expensive to maintain and yields no long-term gain. Basically, if you 51% attack any crypto’s blockchain, you shoot yourself in the foot if the currency loses its value.
If you’re done with your government’s messy economic policies and your local currency’s volatility, or if you simply got tired of the banks always having a say in what you do with your money, crypto offers the autonomy you’re longing for. Once you hold your assets in crypto and also get a crypto card, you have basically fooled the system. You’re free of all the suffocating authority banks and governments imposed on you, and now it’s up to you what, when, why, and how to spend crypto in your real life.
Spend Crypto Wisely and with Autonomy
Long gone are the days when crypto was a plaything of cryptographer enthusiasts and developers. While the world still considers cryptocurrencies as forms of investment, you can do better. By treating your crypto wallet like your own personal bank, you can be free of all institutional and governmental control. Add a crypto card to the mix, and you will never again have any trouble while spending your assets - this is the ultimate step to reaching self-sovereignty in the world of cryptocurrencies.
