If you have a choice, do you use crypto or fiat for purchases?

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Tesla's move to accept bitcoin for their cars was not really the first one. It was the first one at this scale of visibility and echoes outside crypto-sphere. And truly the first one where you spend bitcoin as bitcoin and they remain on the company's balance sheet as bitcoin. That's a premiere! At least at a grand scale.

And one that will make sure wealth goes back where it belongs: to the wealthy. Make no mistake about it, this is the game, and it's not new: if you can't kill something, make sure you own it.

And I'm not talking about Tesla or Musk here. They are just doing what they are supposed to do. If they didn't break the ice, some other entity would have.

But you probably already part from your crypto at smaller scale, for regular purchases through various cards. You may even get a cashback on your purchases.

The differences:

  • it seems less of a big deal, as you do it in smaller chunks
  • these amounts are exchanged to fiat and used as such via one of the Visa or Mastercard cards
  • you get excited because you live off the crypto you earn
  • you may receive a cashback and maybe other bonuses for making these purchases
  • a business like, let's say binance, may accumulate your bitcoin, ethereum, or whatever coin you top up your card with, and give you fiat in exchange on the card

That's another potential drain of valuable crypto from the customer to a business interested in accumulating as much crypto as they can.

I'm not saying it happens like this. But it is very possible.

I also use such a card, on the crypto.com website. What I don't do, or haven't done yet, is top up my card with crypto. I use fiat to top it up. And earn crypto as cashback.

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So, I reverse the process.

Fiat => card => purchase => small crypto cashback.

instead of

Crypto => fiat => card => purchase => small crypto cashback.

I always end up with a little more crypto from this operation. While if you top up your card with crypto, you always end up with less and "somebody" else keeping it.

It is not a top coin what I receive as cashback, it is CRO, but it has its benefits.

Of course, that only works if you have fiat to spend. Otherwise you are constrained to one option.

Another alternative, BlockFi has slated to introduce a Visa credit card which will pay cashback in bitcoin. That will be interesting to check out more in-depth as time to distribute them approaches. I am aware of the recent slashed interests by Blockfi, but I know that's what a business does when market conditions change. Sure, I might not have treated it as lightly if I were in a category which will receive a much lower interest on their lent BTC/ETH.

Personally, all this pushing to spend my crypto makes me hold on to it even stronger. At least until we are talking about real wealth on my side as well.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta



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