Bitcoin Black Friday On Track For Record Spending In Fourth Year
Looking for some good holiday shopping deals using bitcoin? This Friday will mark the biggest single day of spending for bitcoin merchants when Bitcoin Black Friday returns for the fourth straight year. More than 150 online merchants will offer discounts offered exclusively to bitcoin users. Shoppers will be able to buy all of their holiday gifts in bitcoin.
Bitcoin Evangelist Jon Holmquist launched the event in 2012 and with the help of various businesses and bitcoin investors. The bitcoin community grew it into the event it is today.
Discounted items will include gifts such as comic books, hot sauce, VPNs, hosting, t-shirts, diamond jewelry, watches, art, beef jerky, and more. The Bitcoin Black Friday website offers tools on how to participate in the holiday shopping spree.
“For any online merchant, accepting bitcoin is a requirement,” said Holmquist. “It’s free to accept and connects you with a great community of people who want to spend their money.”
Last Year Set A Record
Last year’s event hosted 600 merchants. The event posted an 82% increase in the number of merchants compared to the prior year, according to BitPay.
From 2013 to 2014, BitPay noticed a shift in spending patterns. In 2013, many of the transactions were for bitcoin mining equipment, while 2014 saw more spending on traditional e-commerce merchandise.
Both Gyft and Newegg in 2014 experienced their best day of bitcoin sales ever, according to BitPay. Amagi Metals also experienced its highest number of bitcoin orders in one day. Other merchants with the notable volume on Black Friday in 2014 were TigerDirect, Adafruit, and Namecheap.
“I absolutely loved the New Egg deals last year; it was great seeing a large merchant offering bitcoin-exclusive deals,” Holmquist said of last year’s event.
A New Year, A New Record
This year, a broader range of retailers is offering bitcoin-specific deals on a wider array of items. This year’s event is on target to set a record as 10,000 bitcoiners have already signed up for the event’s email reminder, Holmquist told CCN.com.
“This year, we’re focused on targeting merchants who are actively involved in the bitcoin community,” he said. In addition to sending previous merchants a reminder about the event, Bitcoin Black Friday has posted notices in forums and subreddits where merchants frequent. “We also actively requested consumers to email their favorite bitcoin merchant and ask them to sign up,” he noted.
The event this year was made possible in part from the support of its sponsor, bitcoin merchant Private Internet Access.
Most of the participating merchants are in the U.S., but each year, there are some international merchants as well.
Satisfied Merchants
“Bitcoin Black Friday is one of the most active retail activities on our website throughout the year,” said Elyse Petersen the owner of Tealet, a bitcoin merchant. “We are happy to be a part of a campaign that shows the real value and power in the bitcoin network.”
Confirmed merchants this year include:
- Private Internet Access — A VPN service
- Namecheap – Less expensive domains and hosting for those who pay in bitcoin
- Bees Brothers — Discounted candies and raw honey
- Denarium — Physical bitcoins, metal coins that contain a bitcoin wallet
- Mixedtees — Discounts on t-shirts, hoodies and other merchandise
- Tealet — Tea from independent growers
- Bitsoaps — Soap molded in the shape of a bitcoin, discounted if bought with bitcoin
- Nestorgames — Board games of all shapes and sizes
- REEDS Jewelers — Discounted jewelry
Full details about the day are at https://BitcoinBlackFriday.com
Images from Shutterstock and BFF.
