Bitcoin Forum

For travellers, you can now buy e-sim with bitcoin, using the on-chain transfer or the bitcoin lightning payment. This is supported in 140 countries.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-crypto-to-buy-sim-cards-in-140-countries-bitrefill

What I found out on bitrefill site is that it is data only e-sim, it does not come with a number. It is said that it is cheaper, but I do not know if this is true or not.

Thanks for the info. Was looking for something like that before my last trip some months ago but couldn't find anything. Everything is always credit card or paypal or what not.

It's good to see some new area opening up for bitcoin payments! Let's hope the price is the same as when you pay with alternative fiat providers.
When I checked for flights/accommodation payable with crypto I always had the feeling there is some kind of markup compared to other payment options, which then of course loses the incentive to use it after all.

They are also accepting ETH and stable coins.
I personally do not think the market for data only privacy e-Sims is a large one, but any sort of adoption is a positive.

This certainly is a great leap towards the future; however, the way things are going, its not all crystal clear. The part that says its data only and doesnt come with a number seems intriguing, but also puzzling.

Given that it lacks a number, Im unsure of why it would be less expensive. But I appreciate you bringing it up since its an important thing to think about. Its comparable to possessing a door's key but not knowing the address of the door.

Despite this, I still think its best to purchase a sim from an online store because they might have even better deals and dont impose a fee for transactions like bitcoin. Bitcoin is unquestionably a potent instrument, but when it comes to e-sims, it might not be the best option. Nevertheless, I still endorse the use of bitcoin in many other situations.

Cool, but your phone has to be eSIM compatible, and unfortunately most cheap smartphones are not.  If you click on "compatible devices" you will mostly see iPhones, newest Samsung phones and Google pixels.

I know but I did not include ether and stable coins because this board is a bitcoin discussion board. Because bitcoin lightning payment is among, I will prefer to use it than any other payment.

Bitcoin adoption still continues, with time it will have more utility.

A time is coming that almost all phones will be able to use e-sim, or at least the mid range phones.

This is huge for the Bitcoin community and the anonymity purposes. E-sims are the best invention I would say related to phones in the recent year after I guess NFC. I have been using e-sim in my phone and it's like you know that no one can take out the physical sim card and misuse it at all. It's a pain relief to be very honest. After Apple's move to e-sim for all it's models in US, it might be implemented to other countries as well. Are they even accepting other cryptos or just BTC?

This is something impressive for more advanced use of bitcoin in without having location barriers or getting excessive bill upon enrouting other networks while traveling, i wish they could give a list of the included countries where this opportunity is made available, secondly, how is the security to using this guaranteed, wouldn't this gives a threat to introduce any bug to use in tracking or hacking one's device since you will have to download it and install before use, how secured is their server.

Yes, they are accepting other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Litecoin and Stablecoins like usdt, it is written in the link that the op shared.
You can see the list of destinations that you can use this eSim, their data plans and duration in this link: https://www.bitrefill.com/worldwide/en/esims/?hl=en

Well, Bitrefill, I have used it, but it should be noted that with Bitrefill you can buy SIM cards, as well as a lot of other things, after conversion to fiat on their part. They give a great service, but the title is kind of misleading because you are not buying directly with bitcoin, they have an agreement with eSIM Go, as with a lot of companies and they get paid after conversion to fiat.

It is like the person who has an card issued by an exchange that he loads with bitcoin and pays in shops after conversion to fiat. You could also say that you are paying with bitcoin when technically speaking you are not, what you are doing is changing bitcoin to fiat in order to be able to pay.

Thanks for this information. I needed this desperately. All the challenges that I experience while traveling abroad international esim app I believe is now sorted. It is written that it is accessible to 120 regions . I'll try it out with my friends on our next trip. I'm just finding out too that it's not only bitrefill that's into this there are other companies as well. Another strategy for Bitcoin awareness and adoption. It is almost like saying of you want to Payless on Telco, try Bitcoin.

E-sim is being tested on the latest smartphones of phone companies but shows that it will be the trend in the future and it is only a matter of time before we remove the physical sim. I also switched to E-sim 2 months ago and it's really convenient and enhances the level of security, I believe this trend will be widely adopted soon. But in short, the purpose of this news is to say that the use of bitcoin as a means of payment is increasing day by day and used in every industry. It's another win for mass bitcoin adoption.

for today maybe yes, but when you talk in the future, I think there will be more phone products that support e-SIM. and with the information the OP shared I think for all of us Bitcoin users this is great news. although this market also does not look big enough. but anyway it's a good adoption. now we can see how more use of Bitcoin as a means of payment in some businesses. although the transactions that occur may not be as big as what happened to Fiat.

That's nice news, and from what I see, my country is among those where the service is available. My issue with eSIMs is just that a lot of phones don't support it, especially if we're talking about older models. I'm also wondering how it works in terms of local legislations. I mean, my country is pretty neat because you can literally buy a SIM card at a typical supermarket, and there are zero requirements on showing your ID or whatever. But I've noticed that it's quite different in many other countries, and you do need an ID to which the phone number gets registered, as well as some other data sometimes.
Another matter is that Bitcoin payments also aren't legal all around the world, so I'm amazed by 140 supported countries but also wondering whether it's all actually legal in all those countries. It's also a shame if one can only buy data, but not the SIM.

IMO, what a great idea they did to make it easier for travelers to travel without having to bother carrying large amounts of fiat money in their trouser wallets.
Providing more convenience.


This is positive for me and I hope it will have a good impact on the adoption rate of bitcoin going forward.

e-sims are good alternative options for sim cards. The problem with them is that they cost more than a normal sim in many ways. I have never used an e-sim to date. I googled about it and found out a few cons. Those who have used it can help me further to establish whether they are good or bad.

The first thing I found out is that data based e-sim has a higher cost as in the per GB transfer is more expensive than a normal sim. The next thing I found out is that the roaming option is more limited than a normal sim. By roaming option, I meant the packages. The last was technical difficulties wherein I used might face multiple issues while getting it activated. If anyone here has used an e-sim then do quote me with a reply to my questions.

Interestingly supported by 140 countries is the big breakthrough that I've ever heard of because in the Sim Card industry, usually the government will focus on payments to enable the entry of personal data. But what Bitrefill has done is a benchmark or illustration for eSIM companies to implement the same system. Making it easier for travelers to use services like this certainly has a positive impact. In the future, I hope that it will not only focus on eSIM but that 140 countries will expand to the transportation payment sector, rental housing, etc.

E-SIM with Bitcoin I always find a good quality because there are no fees required. E-SIM will only provide the most convenience to travelers as not all money moves in all countries but almost all countries where bitcoin is legal (in countries where it is illegal but secretly used) travelers can realize using a Bitcoin e-SIM. As this journey has started in 140 countries it will definitely be successful because in this modern age people are always busy with modern thinking and Bitcoin. And I think free transactions will impose the greatest benefits and become popular.

Bitrefill is a very good platform, I use this platform to buy some stuffs paying with crypto, they accept BTC, LTC, BNB, USDT and few others, you can also pay direct with Binance Pay, so if they are introducing a e-sim I am definitely buying one, I've never done this but I trust anything from that platform, I got the alert in my mail this yesterday, thanks for dropping on the forum for others to be aware of this.

What is interesting is that there are a lot more phones & devices that support esim.
Take a look at https://silent.link/faq and clock on the which compatible devices support esim

What I don't know and can't seem to find an answer to is do different esim providers support different devices, or did bitrefill who I use a lot, just give a list of the more popular ones.
For $3.50 for the 1GB 7 Day one I might just try using a device that is not listed as compatible to see what happens. The flip side is all that means is THAT device works, who knows if another not listed one would.

-Dave

The Bitrefill eSim doesn't make use of a phone number, it is just for data-only and in the process of installation no phone number will be given to you.
I don't know if BTC is legal in all the accepted desinations, but BTC is not the only option of payment for this service, there are others that people can use and they may even set everything up before travelling.
This service doesn't solve this issue, this service only provides you with internet connection when you travel abroad, it doesn't store any money or anything like that.

Thanks for this. It is cheaper than I expected and much cheaper than my regular plan. On my next trip I'll test it. $4 for 1 GB for a week in different countries is worth trying.

--Knight Hider

This is true, even some more expensive smartphones that are 3-4 years old do not support eSIM, so this service is unfortunately unavailable for many. In addition I checked Bitrefill eSIM Global and the price for only 5 GB of data is even 76 EUR, which from my perspective is quite expensive considering that for that price I have almost 4 months of flat internet in my country. The prices for individual countries are of course lower, but it still seems to me that this service is a little overpriced.

I just the last few minutes reading through the entire article from the source link, but I seems to be missing something which is how the E-sim is going to be installed and the network being tap into the mobile device, and talking about wifi connection in other to make the purchase, will one always need a wifi connection for the sim to work? Or when it comes to data purchases and all of that, will one use the same way he got the SIM to top up the data?

Pardon my silly questions. I have not really made use of E-SIM, and as such, I don't know how it works, adding to the fact that this one is crypto-related.

An esim is nothing more then an embedded digitally programmable sim.
T-Mobile explains it well: https://www.t-mobile.com/resources/what-is-an-esim-card

What is nice about them is you can buy one, scan a QR code and have an active phone in another country in less time then it took me to type this.

https://travel.orange.com/en/all-inclusive/orhldeur20gb/

-Dave

e-sim is a step in the right direction for mobile subscriber tokens, i believe

the physical SIM card system turned into a rats nest of vendor malware nasties that you weren't always aware of, and even if you were, were not easy to get rid of.

an e-sim format could (in principle) be open/free software, and even if it wasn't, it can be analyzed and tamed by those with the skills to do so.


so I'm looking forward to using them, although i'm like most everyone else in that i don't have a phone that supports it yet.

and also, phone number? who even uses those these day? :-\

E SIMs are pretty wild, you can use APIs to make it look like you're dialing from another country, or have like much more sophisticated data analytics etc etc. Nice to know you can get one with some BTC! Although I'm not sure if that is something I need/ would ever need to do

If you are not traveling outside the country where you live, then you do not need this kind of service, and if you are going on such a trip, there is always the option of buying a local prepaid SIM card and using it during your stay in that country. For example, I do not need to buy an additional SIM if I travel within the European Union and the European Economic Area, because the roaming rules (https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/internet-telecoms/mobile-roaming-costs/index_en.htm) apply within that area, which means that I pay the same price for services as if I were in my own country.

---

Given that you need a mobile number to use popular applications such as Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram, most people still have their own mobile number, and I don't believe that this will change so quickly, regardless of the new technologies that are already present. Of course, these applications can also be activated using a virtual number, but most people still choose the standard approach.

This is great news!
For someone who likes to travel and uses cryptocurrencies as well (like me), this could be very useful. I've just checked the site and the prices are even cheap, I'd spend more money getting a roaming package from my provider than on bitrefill. Global packages can be pricey, but you can get Regional which is cheaper and more efficient. And they have great coverage as well.

E-SIM compatible phones have been out for a long time now on the more expensive models. But since it isn't a new thing, It should be brought to lower end phones soon. Low end phones are quickly replaced anyway, so this could be really useful to everyone soon enough.

This is really a commendable thing because many travelers travel to different countries and have to use the country's own currency to buy anything and also to buy a SIM.  In this case, it is necessary to convert the country's currency and carry it with you, otherwise an international debit or credit card should be used.  But international payments through debit and credit cards incur additional charges. However, the facility through Bitcoin is very beneficial for them.  Because Bitcoin is a currency that supports and can be used in every country. Thanks for sharing this information

Hopefully it's soon, because I've checked the list and at this point it's only the newest edition. I have a 2 year old phone and it's not on the list and the few ones that I've checked cost at least $500.
My target is usually below that because I buy a phone for everyday use outside, which means that it can fall to the ground, get scratched and all that.

If they can add this option to your average $300 phone, I might be interested, especially since I've used Bitrefill a few times and never had any issues with them. 

It works with the Pixel 6A which is $349.99 MSRP but is routinely on sale for $299 you just have to wait and catch it at that price.
You can also wipe the OS and install Graphine
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5416327.0

The 6A seems to be a much better phone then the 6 that I had. At least from the discussions out there.

---

Also, I tried it with a phone that supports esim that was not listed and it DID work. But, obviously YMMV with that. (razr 2019)
At a *guess* any device that supports the esim standard should work.That's why they call it a standard. But, if whatever service they are using didn't test it they don't want to support it.
And I really don't blame that on that.

-Dave

Nice, if this is just a data-only sim. This is useful for those people that have contacts through their socials, even with or without number.

This is the kind of product that we want to see. Anyone who actually took and able to purchase this e-sim? An ideal data provider for those who travel frequently.

And not only that, can be paid with crypto. But hopefully, telcos and sim providers will consider it someday to pay load stuff, data and etc, with btc and cryptos.

Thanks to Bitrefill and eSIM Go for promoting the possibility of living wholly on bitcoin. One hundred and forty countries is massive. At least the hurdle of buying data in another country have been reduced to some extend. Everything to promote bitcoin awareness and adoption is good news.

This will be a challenge for those that cannot afford such phones because of the cost. But more cheaper phones might become compatible in the future.

i'm quite proud to be using unpopular message applications :D


I got my new phone a few years back, and I haven't given the actual telephone number to more than about 10 people IIRC. and very few actually use that number out of those who have it, almost all messaging/calls happen over internet-based comms for me. e-SIMs with no phone number seem to be a (belated) recognition of how meaningless the telephone system is these days, a few changes to my lifestyle and I think I could ditch telephones altogether

I had seen the announcement in their Instagram channel a few days ago and so I went to see if there was a possibility for my country (Italy) to have an e-sim and I was amazed because there are so many countries in the world that are supported.  But the problem is the costs, it's crazy because a data plan with 20gb for 30 days costs more than €25 when I currently spend less than €7 with my company...so I see no reason to spend almost 4 times as much more.

While it's accurate that the adoption of e-SIM supported devices among Bitcoin users isn't widespread, the global trend is gradually moving towards increased adoption. Personally, I'm focusing on observations within my country, where there seems to be a limited number of e-SIM users who are acquainted with Bitcoin. Nevertheless, it's a positive development that Bitcoin can be directly used to purchase a sim card.

I'm not too fond of those apps either, but I simply don't have too many choices if I want to communicate with people who mostly use those apps. I know there are alternatives, but persuading people to use them is very difficult, similar to how most people still use Twitter (or is it called X now?) regardless of the alternatives.


I also have a smartphone that is several years old and I paid about 700 EUR for it, and I still consider it a very good device, although unfortunately it has not received any update for more than 1 year. Unfortunately, the official specifications say that it does not support eSIM, but when the time comes for a new device, I will definitely pay attention that it also has that feature.

As for having a phone number, I obviously live in a country where it is almost necessary, whether it is to deliver a package (the delivery person always makes a call before delivery) or to receive notifications from a government service or even from your doctor.

Finally a realistic device provider in the world of crypto. Though I am not sure why every service is not yet available in the form Bitcoin or basically crypto currencies. Today we are already seeing gift cards, payment accepted here boards, third party purchases and even gas station too.

However, this could be done on major scale I think, every businesses can adopt this if everyone just see it as mode of payment.


I think even if this is data on e-sim it’s even best as you can continue to use the social media apps. There is high usage of phone calls via WhatsApp, messanger, insta and much more. I think having just data is also more than enough these days.

Looking forward to see what they have more in the carts.

Not that much expensive if you are a latest iPhone user!  :D

eSIMs have not been advertised even one bit in my country.  That alone says a lot about their compatibility.  If they ever come to cheaper smartphones, prepare for a ton of commercials.

There is no reason for you to use this service when you are still at home, i mean in your country; you should surely get cheaper data when you just buy directly from your service provider. This service only comes in handy when you are travelling outside of your country, that is when you can compare the cost and charges of either using this eSim service from Bitrefill or just buying a sim card when you arrive the country and buying data with it.

Partly true and partly not.  When I travel within the European community with my operator plan if I make calls to my country no cost is applied so it is still convenient for me to keep my subscription.  While when it comes to going beyond the European Union then perhaps this subscription can be convenient, obviously your device must be compatible with those e-sims.

I guess you're right, because for someone who can afford to pay for a smartphone over 1000 EUR or even for some foldable models over 2000 EUR, that 76 EUR seems like a real trifle.

some people feel they need to talk to you, so don't give them your number (use a messenger app that doesn't need a phone number instead). this is exactly how I did it: got a new phone and then minimized the people who were given the number...

...which for sure included any delivery drivers, doctors or (lol) government services. these people invariably dislike dealing with me, I'm pretty proud of that too ;)

This is a widely adaptation to the use of Bitcoin in my country are not supporting this kind of feature yet instead, we are using an e-wallet that can easily buy and sell Bitcoin the same with the exchange but those e-wallets are now accepting cryptocurrency; we have a sim registration yet for the verification of the KYC so sooner or later this might adopt into us too.
The question on this is, whether the sim must be supported too with the KYC?, because if they can buy bitcoin into this I guess must need to have personal information else people can buy a bitcoin with the sim without the hassle of this.