Where to spend Bitcoin on Black Friday

It’s that time of year again. Get your Bitcoin wallet ready and get ready to shop online during crazy discount days. Bitcoin Black Friday is back!

     The event, created by digital currency entrepreneur Jon Holmquist and intended to unite cryptocurrency enthusiasts and retailers around consumerism using bitcoin as a currency, kicks off tomorrow.

    Now in its third iteration, Bitcoin Black Friday is often considered the busiest period of the year for Bitcoin trading.

    “The bitcoin user base is growing and the bitcoin payment experience is getting better, so we expect this year’s bitcoin Black Friday spending patterns to be a continuation of last year’s trends for everyday groceries,” James Walpole, marketing associate at bitcoin payment processor BitPay, told CoinDesk.

    Walpole said that back in 2013, most items purchased during the shopping extravaganza were bitcoin-related products, such as mining equipment.

    According to Walpole, BitPay saw a decrease in the total number of transactions during last year’s event, but witnessed participation from more merchants, as well as a greater diversity of items purchased by customers. “These Black Friday deals were consumer-facing items, like gift cards and personal electronics,” Walpole said.

    With customers using bitcoin to pay appearing to spend the electronic currency on a wider range of items, the real question on everyone’s mind is what can they buy with bitcoin when Bitcoin Black Friday rolls around again?

    To that end, CoinDesk reviewed some of the transactions available to consumers paying with bitcoin.

Search Deals

     If you want to see a variety of different deals in one place, Bitcoin Black Friday is a good first stop. The only downside is that it’s only available on the day of the event, so you can’t plan ahead.

    Now, users can subscribe to the service and receive reminders on the same day.

The website states:

     “Bitcoin Black Friday is a one-day event that brings together Bitcoin merchants and Bitcoin users. Merchants simply list their Bitcoin transactions, and then users can view all transactions in one place. This year, our focus is on spotlighting the best merchants in the Bitcoin community.”

Hotel Reservations

     While Spanish online travel agency Destinia has not launched any specific bitcoin promotions, the company’s head of press, Amaia Arteta Arregui, told CoinDesk that customers who pay with the digital currency will be able to receive discounts on hotel bookings as part of its Black Friday campaign.

   “We have a dedicated Black Friday event, but we don’t have anything specific for Bitcoin,” Arteta Arregui explained.

     She added that if bitcoin paying users check out using a #BlackFriday coupon, they will be able to get the discount.

Bees Brothers

     The Bees Brothers, known as the world’s youngest Bitcoin entrepreneurs, are offering customers a 20 percent discount on honey-related goods when they pay with the digital currency.

     Seventeen-year-old Nathan Huntzinger, who runs Bees Brothers with his two younger brothers, told CoinDesk: “We wouldn’t be able to stay in business at this price, but we’ve gained so many repeat customers and friends since we’ve been involved in bitcoin for five years, and this is a good time to say thank you to everyone. At the same time, we hope this price will attract some new friends who might want to try our honey caramels.”

     The Huntzinger brothers first participated in Black Friday in 2013, and according to Huntzinger, the shopping weekend has remained their busiest time of the year ever since.

      Looking back, the teenager said that Bitcoin Black Friday in 2013 was the biggest year for sales to date.

      I think the sales were so high for two reasons. First, the price was at an all-time high, over $1,000, and second, there weren’t a lot of merchants to choose from at the time.”

As the price of the digital currency fell in early 2014, so did sales. “Our bitcoin sales started to decline, and by the middle of the year our fiat sales were higher than our bitcoin sales. That’s where we are now,” Huntzinger said.

Bitsoaps

    Bitsoaps is run by a young couple who say on their website that they stumbled upon Bitcoin and were attracted by its concept and versatility.

    Interestingly, the site notes that the idea to combine environmental protection and digital currency came up during a Thanksgiving dinner in 2013.

    Currently, the website lists six different soaps, some of which feature the Bitcoin symbol. From November 26 to December 6, the company is offering a 20 percent discount to customers who pay with Bitcoin.

  Namecheap

    Domain registrar Namecheap first began accepting Bitcoin in the summer of 2013, participating in the Bitcoin Black Friday event that same year.

While the company didn’t reveal any specific details, it did confirm that it will offer discounts to customers during the Black Friday event:

   “We’re offering discounts to all our customers this Black Friday! Over $10 million worth of deals, stay tuned.” – Namecheap.com, November 25, 2015

    Further details are expected to be released tomorrow.

  Gyft

     California-based digital gift card platform Gyft began accepting Bitcoin payments in 2013 through a partnership with BitPay.

     Co-founder and CEO Vinny Lingham told CoinDesk that bitcoin payments accounted for 90 percent of the company’s sales at the time. PayPal and credit cards accounted for the remaining 10 percent.

     While that pattern has now reversed, Lingham recently told CoinDesk that his company will be participating in the Bitcoin Black Friday event:   “Yes, we will give you 5% back in Gyft points on all Bitcoin purchases.”