Cryptocurrency is known to offer a number of benefits over conventional fiat currencies. A good example is lower fees due to minimal or no third-party involvement.
Fiat payment methods often include significant middlemen charges, which tend to increase transaction costs. In contrast, Bitcoin transactions aim to avoid such third-party costs, allowing you to spend more.
But what can you buy with Bitcoin on a shopping spree? The increasing adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptos all over the world has significantly expanded the scope of possibilities of what consumers can buy with them.
This post looks at some things you can buy with Bitcoin in some select countries.
What Can You Buy With Bitcoin In Australia?
In recent months, Australia has made some progress in terms of regulating the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
For example, in 2023, Australian authorities defined asset classes through a token mapping endeavor, which they described as a world-first ‘token mapping’ exercise.
Because digital assets vary and have a wide range of applications, token mapping aims to classify or map them in order to determine the best ways to regulate each class.
In the area of taxation of crypto assets, Australia’s authorities have also tried to be decisive. Their 22-23 federal budget considered crypto as an investment asset that can be subjected to capital gains tax (CGT).
Many crypto exchanges based in Australia offer AUD deposits and withdrawals. Some examples include Coinspot, Swyftx, and Coinjar. Aussie users can also leverage big international exchanges like Binance, Crypto.com and Coinbase.
However, not all international crypto exchanges offer AUD deposits or withdrawals. This means that if you want to trade through a non-AUD international exchange, you’ll first need to buy crypto in an Australian exchange and then send it to the international exchange.
A variety of online and brick-and-mortar businesses offer customers the chance to buy lots of goods and services in Australia – from food and drinks to computer repair services.
For example, USA Foods is a company that provides US delicacies in the Melbourne area. It also has an online store. At USA Foods, you can buy Goldish Crackers and other delicious American food products with Bitcoin or Dogecoin.
Another of the many places you can buy things with Bitcoin in Australia is Coinsbee, a crypto and gift card platform.
Coinsbee stocks a variety of gift cards from Australian merchants, including those who do not accept Bitcoin payments for now. Examples of gift cards available at Coinsbee include DoorDash gift cards, Target gift cards, Coles gift cards, and Telstra gift cards.
What Can You Buy In Japan With Bitcoin?
Regulatory policies tend to vary in Asia, a leader when it comes to cryptocurrency use around the world. Japanese law officially recognized Bitcoin and other cryptos as a payment method in Japan in 2017.
The Payment Services Act (PSA) defines rules for transferring funds outside of conventional banking. These include laws involving non-standard stores of value such as gift cards. In 2016, Japan’s lawmakers urgently added cryptocurrency provisions to extant laws in the aftermath of the Mt. Gox exchange hack.
Since then, those provisions have served as the country’s leading cryptocurrency regulations.
Crypto exchanges in the country are required to register with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and comply with anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations.
All crypto exchanges in Japan are members of the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA), which was established in 2020. Japanese law regards gains derived from trading in cryptos as miscellaneous income and taxes investors accordingly.
Recent new rules on how customer information is shared between crypto exchanges aim to check money laundering.
So what can you buy in Japan with Bitcoin? Well, the answer is you can buy quite a wide range of items in Japan, both in online stores and brick-and-mortar outlets. These include home appliances, luxury watches, hair-dressing services, and local Japanese food among others.
More and more Japanese-based businesses are beginning to allow customers to make purchases with Bitcoins and other cryptos. A good example is Mercari, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Japan.
Earlier in the year, the company said it would start accepting Bitcoin payments in June 2024. Mercari’s integration of Bitcoin payments is made possible by its subsidiary Mercoin, a crypto exchange based in Tokyo.
While Mercari has just started accepting crypto payments from customers, another Japanese company, Bic Camera, has been accepting crypto payments since 2017.
Bic Camera is one of Japan’s largest electronics and home appliance retailers. However, apart from electronics and home appliances, you can also buy other products, depending on the Bic Camera store you visit. Currently, there are over 40 Bic Camera stores in Japan.
What Can You Buy With Bitcoin In South Africa?
Africa ranks among the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets, according to Chainalysis. However, the continent is also the smallest crypto market globally, with crypto transactions peaking at $20 billion per month in mid-2021.
South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria account for the highest number of crypto users in Africa.
When it comes to cryptocurrency regulation and the provision of supportive trading frameworks, South Africa, in particular, has been one of the leaders in Africa.
For example, in 2022, the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) introduced a licensing regime for crypto operators. It recognized crypto assets as financial products, a move that ensured more clarity among crypto enthusiasts.
The FSCA also gives financial investigators the power to tackle illicit activities in the industry better.
With the increasing integration of cryptos by South African businesses, there are quite a lot of things you can buy in the country with Bitcoin.
One of the several businesses that accept Bitcoin payments is Takealot.com, a top e-commerce retailer in South Africa. Takealot started accepting Bitcoin payments as far back as July 2014, mainly due to customer feedback and demand for Bitcoin as a payment method.
The company’s crypto payments system works through a partnership with BITX exchange and PayFast.
In a nutshell, Takealot has made it possible for consumers in South Africa to buy almost everything they need with Bitcoin and other cryptos. Some examples include tech, fashion, beauty, agric, health and entertainment products.
Another destination to consider is Pick n Pay, also giant retailer in South Africa. In 2022, Pick n Pay integrated the CryptoQR Payments API thereby enabling customers to directly pay with cryptocurrency at the company’s till.
Hence, Pick n Pay shoppers can now use their smartphones to pay with cryptos via their Bitcoin Lightning wallet or directly from their VALR, Binance, or Luno accounts.
Some things you can buy at Pick n Pay with Bitcoin include electricity, airtime, flight and bus tickets, and municipal bills.
What Can You Buy With Bitcoin In Canada?
Although Bitcoin is legal in Canada, it lacks the status of a legal currency or legal tender. The only currency recognized as the official currency is the Canadian dollar.
However, Canadian law permits the unrestricted use of digital assets such as Bitcoin as commodities.
Additionally, Canada’s Income Tax Act of 1990 views digital currencies such as Bitcoin as taxable assets taxable by law.
Cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Canada are classified as Money Service Businesses (MSB). Some leading exchanges in Canada include Kraken, Crypto.com, Coinbase, KuCoin, Gemini and Bitfinex.
Under Canada’s 2024 budget, crypto-asset service providers would be required to make a report to the Canada Revenue Agency in relation to each customer and relation to each cryptocurrency asset. The report should include the annual value of:
- Exchanges between cryptocurrency assets and fiat currencies;
- Exchanges for other cryptocurrency assets
- Transfers of the cryptocurrency asset
Canada was the first country in the world to allow spot-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for crypto.
Many products and services can be bought with Bitcoin in Canada’s advanced economy. If you seek to buy luxury jewelry with Bitcoin, for example, then you may want to visit Beck Gold, a Canadian business that accepts payments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Beck Gold also enables the trade of Bitcoin for gold bars and coins.
For coffee lovers, Toronto Brewing is a company that accepts Bitcoin payments for consumers wishing to have a taste of their home brews and craft beers. Though the company is based in Toronto, it offers online delivery services to other parts of Canada.
Conclusion
Today, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have continued to disrupt and penetrate financial systems all over the world.
Their increasing relevance has led to increased efforts by governments to articulate and enforce regulations aimed at ensuring that these coins are used fairly and in ways beneficial to the economy and wider society.
With increasing government backing, many business organizations have joined early pioneers in establishing Bitcoin payment or crypto mechanisms in Australia, Japan, South Africa, Canada, and other parts of the world.
So, if you find yourself in these four countries, not only will you have lots of products and services to buy with Bitcoin, but you’ll also notice that more businesses are embracing Bitcoin and other cryptos as viable payment options.
