Buying food or groceries with Bitcoin

[Abiky]

there are two problems that i see preventing or at least slowing down such adoption.

first is the very small adoption of bitcoin itself. so far not that many people know about bitcoin and from those people a small percentage have actually bought bitcoin. and finally from that small percentage, even a small percentage are also willing to spend their bitcoins as they would any other currency and instead prefer holding it as an investment.
so when the demand for the grocery store to accept bitcoin is very little to non-existent in some places, we can't expect them to start accepting bitcoin.

second problem is the fees. not just them being high from time to time (although that is also a downside) but them going up during spikes. it creates bad experience. imagine paying with the recommended fee then suddenly there is a spike and your fee is no longer high enough. it has happened to me multiple times and at most i had to bump the fee 3 times to get it to confirm after making a trade. and that turns people away and that little percentage i mentioned above also joins the other percentage in holding as an investment instead.

That's certainly true, mate. Despite Bitcoin's rise in price on the market, it still lacks mainstream adoption. I guess this is largely attributed to price volatility, slow transaction processing times, and high fees. Merchants and businesses alike might never use Bitcoin as a serious currency for daily commerce other than as a store of value. The pioneer cryptocurrency is more suitable as a long-term investment than anything else. Of course, we already have the Lightning Network which aims to make Bitcoin payments instant and dirt cheap. But the learning curve is quite steep, preventing everyday people from using it in the mainstream world (I've often found the LN confusing when I first started using it). As long as the aforementioned issues are present in Bitcoin, merchants and businesses will continue to use traditional Fiat for daily payments.

Nonetheless, we already have stablecoins which aim to provide the "best of both worlds". My guess is that Bitcoin will continue to be used as a sort of "hedge" against Fiat, while stablecoins will be used for daily commerce. Bitcoin will be the new digital Gold that will be used alongside Fiat for many generations. It's already useful as a censorship-resistant cryptocurrency that's impervious to third-party intervention. People who value this, will choose Bitcoin above anything else. Others who want convenience will simply choose stablecoins. While it'll be nice to buy food or groceries with Bitcoin someday, it's certainly not a priority right now. With the use of crypto payment processors/gateways, we can get a credit/debit card which serves as a bridge between the world of Fiat and Bitcoin. This is certainly a workaround for buying daily necessities with your hard-earned Bitcoin. Just my thoughts

[finaleshot2016]

Our local wallet has a lot of features and one of them can used for buying goods in online stores.

Our local wallet is affiliated with many online wallets too so even a shop doesn't have a BTC payment method, it's easy to convert and transfer that money without huge fees. The only disadvantage of using our local wallet, it doesn't give a real-time value which means the current price isn't same with CMC every minute.

[Shasha80]

Although there are already many shops and merchants that accept payments with bitcoin, buying food with bitcoin is still difficult done.
Perhaps the main factor is because volatile bitcoin prices make shops and merchants not yet accept bitcoin as payment. Indeed there are
alternatives such as quickly converting bitcoin to fiat or stablecoins can be a solution, but such methods are less effective. So while in my
opinion is not the right time to buy food with bitcoin.

[rezakurnia66]

For me, this is a real form of development that Bitcoin used for media transfer in online stores and food payments. Many e-commerce companies are considering using Bitcoin as a media transfer. And in the next few years, I think there will be many food stores or restaurants accepting Bitcoin payments. I agree with this, but as a company that accepts Bitcoin media transfer, they should immediately transfer to the exchange. We see that the movement of these Bitcoin prices can change rapidly. What I fear is when the price of Bitcoin Falls and the company does not receive profit but they lose profit. Of course, the company immediately moves to the coin stable price like USDT.

This development is certainly a very good step and Bitcoin or all digital currencies are increasingly known around the world.

[Heart18]

Maybe not now, but i strongly believe it would happen in the near future. As we can observe around the world, growing numbers of people had learned to use Bitcoin and there is already selected online stores like Amazon who accepts Bitcoin. We are now in our New Normal kind of living because of this pandemic,  and everyone is encourage to use cashless payments and virtual transactions to avoid the Covid19, and we do not know when this crisis will last...but, despite of that, being in a modern world, with high class technology, we wouldn't be surprise and we must be amazed soon that Bitcoin can be use not just in buying groceries but everything we need in life.

[Benefactor]

I don't think it will be possible very soon. The whole world is going through a difficult time right now. Although there has not been much of an impact on Bitcoin, there is still some fear. Bitcoin is reaching the top of popularity all over the world day by day. This may happen in the near future. I think everyone will benefit a lot if this happens. The world is leaning online now. Everyone wants to buy everything they need online. So even if it takes a little longer, one day it will be possible to buy food or groceries with bitcoin.

[coinmaster9000]

It is not necessary that we accept it for buying and selling daily. Rather, it is only an investment to obtain returns from the investment, and then any currency can be used for buying and selling or even using altcoin for that purpose.
bitcoin is money and not need to use it for daily needs but investment against cash money that losing it value.
bitcoin will be the future.

[Abiky]

I don't think it will be possible very soon. The whole world is going through a difficult time right now. Although there has not been much of an impact on Bitcoin, there is still some fear. Bitcoin is reaching the top of popularity all over the world day by day. This may happen in the near future. I think everyone will benefit a lot if this happens. The world is leaning online now. Everyone wants to buy everything they need online. So even if it takes a little longer, one day it will be possible to buy food or groceries with bitcoin.

Yes. This is more of a dream than anything else. Right now, Bitcoin is very far from becoming a true alternative to existing Fiat. In these times of need, people are resorting to physical cash (Fiat) as it's the "go-to" payment method of choice by many mainstream businesses and merchants alike. Stable prices are what really matters here in order to use a currency for daily necessities. I'd say that if Bitcoin was stable in price, cheaper in fees, and faster in transaction processing times, it would've had a better chance of becoming accepted as payment method in many supermarkets and retail stores. We already have the Lightning Network, but it's not enough as prices are still volatile on the market.

As a workaround, one could buy groceries with Bitcoin using a crypto debit card. That would essentially convert Bitcoin to Fiat "on the fly" when making a purchase with the debit card. This method works as intended, but it's not beneficial for the Bitcoin economy. It's best to pay with Bitcoin directly, completely eliminating the middleman from the system. Time will tell us if Bitcoin will reach a massive level of adoption in the mainstream world or not. Just my thoughts

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

Buying groceries and food with the use of bitcoin is just like a dream in my country, because bitcoin here is not yet really known so many people here still didn't even know about bitcoin an its existence, that is why we cannot  buy groceries or maybe food with the use of bitcoin, the only way that we can use bitcoin here is to convert it first into fiat and with the use of fiat we can buy our needs.

Using bitcoin as a mode of payment in exchange for goods and services can be difficult because there are still a few people who know about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, so if you want to buy foods and groceries using your bitcoin you should convert your bitcoins into fiat for them to be accepted in malls and market. But here in the Philippines, we can buy foods and other things with our bitcoin in online shopping sites using our bitcoin wallets.

[Blackrain13]

Bitcoin's popularity has been increasing ever since the bull market of 2017 took place. Even with the pandemic, prices have recovered to their original levels (near $10k) in just a matter of months. More people are accepting Bitcoin worldwide, albeit at a slow and steady pace. I've seen many sites out there in the online world which accepts Bitcoin for goods and services. But the number of businesses and merchants accepting it for food or groceries are quite limited. In the physical world, supermarkets and even fast foods haven't even adopted Bitcoin yet. Fiat is still the predominant type of currency in the mainstream world, for buying items that are required for one's survival.

Do you think that in the future it'll be possible to buy food or groceries with Bitcoin? I know that volatility is a huge issue for Bitcoin to be accepted as an alternative to traditional Fiat, but merchants and businesses could quickly convert Bitcoin to a stablecoin minimizing the risk of loss. What are your thoughts?

I think not only the volatility is the issue bitcoin is not to be accepted as an alternative payment method in different sector like when you buy foods and groceries,although it was use as payment online for bills like water and electric bill and also you can buy loads using bitcoin. The other thing that i see why it was limited to accept because of the transaction process that can be more longer than if you pay a fiat money.Also you always need an internet connection or data everytime you are going to make a transaction. What if the internet is too slow? Those are the things that i think most businesses and merchants should consider to accept bitcoin.

[Yatsan]

There could be a possibility that in the near future, buying foods and groceries can be done directly using Bitcoin because mostly these days, Bitcoin just serves us a digital money and is being converted into national currency to be able to be used using digital wallets provided by a certain country.

The adaptability of directly using Bitcoin as a payment option can be possible to make happen if the consumers will demand the usage of it since merchants are following or adapting into the needs and wants of their customers. The possibility of using Bitcoin can only be possible if people will massively demand the usage of Bitcoin once they have already adapted on using it more like using paper money or fiat. But as of now, there are still certain issues that are needed to be resolved before coming up into such scenario but hopefully in the very near future, usage of cryptocurrencies not just Bitcoin can be made possible directly even without doing conversions to purchase goods and services.

[GDragon]

There could be a possibility that in the near future, buying foods and groceries can be done directly using Bitcoin because mostly these days, Bitcoin just serves us a digital money and is being converted into national currency to be able to be used using digital wallets provided by a certain country.

The adaptability of directly using Bitcoin as a payment option can be possible to make happen if the consumers will demand the usage of it since merchants are following or adapting into the needs and wants of their customers. The possibility of using Bitcoin can only be possible if people will massively demand the usage of Bitcoin once they have already adapted on using it more like using paper money or fiat. But as of now, there are still certain issues that are needed to be resolved before coming up into such scenario but hopefully in the very near future, usage of cryptocurrencies not just Bitcoin can be made possible directly even without doing conversions to purchase goods and services.

Its all in the hands of the people. but I don't really see it happening as of now. People are still into fiat. Its still the efficient one even in digital payments. I use fiat to purchase online so I need to convert my coins first, transfer it to my bank then use it to buy things online. It is needed to be widely used before stores and companies decides to accept it as payments. And we have to be honest that its not happening today. We are still struggling to introduce btc as a currency and not only as an investment. Some people even see btc as a haven of scam and etc.

[Abiky]

There could be a possibility that in the near future, buying foods and groceries can be done directly using Bitcoin because mostly these days, Bitcoin just serves us a digital money and is being converted into national currency to be able to be used using digital wallets provided by a certain country.

The adaptability of directly using Bitcoin as a payment option can be possible to make happen if the consumers will demand the usage of it since merchants are following or adapting into the needs and wants of their customers. The possibility of using Bitcoin can only be possible if people will massively demand the usage of Bitcoin once they have already adapted on using it more like using paper money or fiat. But as of now, there are still certain issues that are needed to be resolved before coming up into such scenario but hopefully in the very near future, usage of cryptocurrencies not just Bitcoin can be made possible directly even without doing conversions to purchase goods and services.

As we enter a new digital era, physical cash payments will be a thing of the past. In the future, payments will be done with either credit/debit cards or cryptocurrencies thanks to the negative effects of COVID-19 on the mainstream economy. While Bitcoin is volatile, merchants and businesses could use an existent crypto payment gateway (like BitPay or CoinPayments) to quickly exchange Bitcoin to Fiat. With stablecoins and many other goodies in the crypto industry, it might be possible that we could buy our food or groceries in an instant using Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency on the market. It's all a matter of mainstream adoption than anything else.

Of course, Fiat is still largely dominant because of its inherent price stability on the market. People tend to trust more something that's backed by the government, than something that isn't. It's normal that the number of merchants and businesses accepting crypto for daily payments is lower than those in the traditional Fiat economy. If the demand for Bitcoin as payment method is high, then supermarkets would accept it without thinking twice. Only then, it'll be a straightforward process for anyone to spend their Bitcoin in items of need (mostly food for survival). In these troubled times, I'd expect widespread adoption of Bitcoin into traditional stores we know and love today. Just my thoughts

[adamistraybar]

sites offer giftcards and you can but them with bitcoin. One i use is ubereats and i proably bought 5k in ubereats cards wit bitcoin in last year .

You can also but grocery cards with bitcoin many sites you just need to know were to look

[AniviaBtc]

Yes you can if you buy from shops that accept them. Once Get a bitcoin Visa or Mastercard to automaticaly convert bitcoin to fiat. This way you have 100% in BTC and convert in the last moment when you need it.

It depends on the grocery store or the market if they allow the bitcoin to become a payment tool for their business.

Some businesses are still not that knowledgeable about bitcoin due to its centralization. Also, it is volatile so maybe grocery stores are scared that they may lose the value of it when its price goes down.

But hoping that this adoption will become put in to place as this is what we need right now to prevent physical contact during payments. I heard about the bitcoin ATM where we can withdraw bitcoin instantly and hoping that more bitcoin ATMs should spread globally so that it is more convenient to us if we needed to do that.

[DevilSlayer]

Yes you can if you buy from shops that accept them. Once Get a bitcoin Visa or Mastercard to automaticaly convert bitcoin to fiat. This way you have 100% in BTC and convert in the last moment when you need it.

It depends on the grocery store or the market if they allow the bitcoin to become a payment tool for their business.

Some businesses are still not that knowledgeable about bitcoin due to its centralization. Also, it is volatile so maybe grocery stores are scared that they may lose the value of it when its price goes down.

But hoping that this adoption will become put in to place as this is what we need right now to prevent physical contact during payments. I heard about the bitcoin ATM where we can withdraw bitcoin instantly and hoping that more bitcoin ATMs should spread globally so that it is more convenient to us if we needed to do that.

In my country, there is still no grocery that are accepting bitcoin as payment but there are now small businesses like computer shop and coffee shops that are now starting to adopt cryptocurrencies. The progress in my country is too slow when it comes to mass adaption because of lack of financial literacy. Actually there are less than 10 bitcoin ATM in my country as of now and it seems that it will take more time before it doubles.

There are still a lot of people who do not have care about cryptocurrencies and I think it is the reason why merchants and other businesses are still having hard time to think whether they will start accepting bitcoin as payment or if they will stay using the old system.

[shoreno]

In my country, there is still no grocery that are accepting bitcoin as payment but there are now small businesses like computer shop and coffee shops that are now starting to adopt cryptocurrencies.

seems not right eh ? the big companies are the ones that must accept new technologies first before the smaller ones because more people visit on them the most while small business hardly being seen  . less to no people are going to try thier new accepted payment method  which was btc  . lesser adoption we can achieve as well    .

The progress in my country is too slow when it comes to mass adaption because of lack of financial literacy. Actually there are less than 10 bitcoin ATM in my country as of now and it seems that it will take more time before it doubles.

financial literacy is not needed but we only need basic understanding on how internet and gadget work before we can use btc  . we dont need money before we can use btc . 10 btc atm's are also alot and fine than no btc atm , atleast people will have something to try on  .

[Traderbtcc]

Bitcoin's popularity has been increasing ever since the bull market of 2017 took place. Even with the pandemic, prices have recovered to their original levels (near $10k) in just a matter of months. More people are accepting Bitcoin worldwide, albeit at a slow and steady pace. I've seen many sites out there in the online world which accepts Bitcoin for goods and services. But the number of businesses and merchants accepting it for food or groceries are quite limited. In the physical world, supermarkets and even fast foods haven't even adopted Bitcoin yet. Fiat is still the predominant type of currency in the mainstream world, for buying items that are required for one's survival.

No doubt the popularity and usage of bitcoin increased since the last bull run in 2017 which brought bitcoin into the limelight ,but unfortunately merchants are still not ready to accept  it, because they're working based on demand, but if in the next two years or more they see a huge spike in demand to use bitcoin as a payment option, no doubt they will start accepting it, since their customers wants it to be included as a payment option for them like the credit card /PayPal etc.

Do you think that in the future it'll be possible to buy food or groceries with Bitcoin?

There's a 95% chance that in the future bitcoin will be used to buy food and groceries, but this will only happen when the customers demand for it to be be included as a payment option increases.

[NavI_027]

In my country, there is still no grocery that are accepting bitcoin as payment but there are now small businesses like computer shop and coffee shops that are now starting to adopt cryptocurrencies.

seems not right eh ? the big companies are the ones that must accept new technologies first before the smaller ones because more people visit on them the most while small business hardly being seen  . less to no people are going to try thier new accepted payment method  which was btc  . lesser adoption we can achieve as well    .

That's not only my concern. I feel sad to know that most of the grocery stores, reaturants and establishments here in our country is yet open to adopt bitcoin as well but already accepting e-money payments (Gcash, Paymaya, Paypal etc.). There are almost no difference between the two, isn't it? Then why they are not trying to adopt it? Yeah! Maybe some of you will say about the volatility. But I think it is easy to resolve by means of giving the equivalent amount of btc on your purchase. $1 worth of btc for $1 apple, as simple as that.

The progress in my country is too slow when it comes to mass adaption because of lack of financial literacy. Actually there are less than 10 bitcoin ATM in my country as of now and it seems that it will take more time before it doubles.

That's not the worst dude. As far as I know, we only have one bitcoin ATM here until now .

[samputin]

Do you think that in the future it'll be possible to buy food or groceries with Bitcoin? I know that volatility is a huge issue for Bitcoin to be accepted as an alternative to traditional Fiat, but merchants and businesses could quickly convert Bitcoin to a stablecoin minimizing the risk of loss. What are your thoughts?

We're not sure on what would happen in the future but nothing's impossible. There are already shops that accepts bitcoin as payment so most probably, we can also use this to buy foods and groceries. However, there are some issues that bothers merchants which hinders bitcoin to be widely used as a mode of payment.

"For the vast majority of merchants out there, just like for the vast majority of retail banking users out there, crypto is still something unknown, something they still didn't learn to trust."
"Crypro's price swings is not really conducive to merchant adoption."
-Kris Marszalek, CEO, Crypto.com

"For the mainstream, the general perception toward crypto are 'complicated to use' or 'risky to own cryptos'".
- Peko Wan, Chief ecosystem officer of crypto point, Pundi X

"Despite adding the crypto payment, 'no one has ever paid using crypto' [...] 'wary of all cryptos as there are many scams out there'".
- UK-based owner

Maybe if those factors or issues are addressed, then bitcoin may be used widely as a mode of payment.
Source:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-have-cryptocurrency-payments-failed-to-take-off-so-far/amp?__twitter_impression=true