Bitcoin (BTC) vouchers provide one of the most convenient and private ways to buy bitcoin. However, despite the convenience and privacy they offer, bitcoin vouchers are yet to fulfill their full potential to spur global bitcoin adoption.
Read on to learn what bitcoin vouchers are, how you can use them to buy bitcoin with cash, and why they could play an influential role in bitcoin adoption.
What are bitcoin vouchers?
Bitcoin vouchers are pre-paid cards – similar to gift cards – that can be purchased using cash or bank cards and are redeemed for BTC. The amount of bitcoin “stored” within vouchers typically ranges from USD 10 to USD 250.
Crypto vouchers can be either digital or physical, with the latter providing an innovative way to purchase bitcoin privately with cash.
Physical bitcoin vouchers are sold at kiosks, grocery stores, gas stations, and newsagents, enabling fast and easy access to bitcoin for anyone with cash in their pockets.
How do you buy BTC with bitcoin vouchers using cash
Buying bitcoin using a physical bitcoin voucher only takes minutes and enables you to seamlessly and privately convert your fiat currency into digital currency.
The process differs slightly from provider to provider, but, generally, it works as follows:
- Visit a store that sells bitcoin vouchers.
- Purchase a voucher for the amount of bitcoin you want to buy.
- Redeem your bitcoin by typing the voucher’s code into the provider’s website and providing your bitcoin wallet address to receive your coins. If you purchased a bitcoin voucher that comes with an LNURL QR code, you only need to scan it with your Lightning Network (LN) wallet and receive your bitcoin via the Lightning Network within a second.
And that’s it! You receive bitcoin, and your purchase is complete.
The role bitcoin vouchers can play in mass adoption
Thanks to the likes of Azteco, Coinfinity, and FastBitcoins, you can purchase physical bitcoin vouchers at a wide range of global locations.
From a gas station in the Austrian alps or a newsagent in Warsaw to a kiosk in Johannesburg, bitcoin vouchers are found in a growing number of cities in all corners of the world.
Max Tertinegg, Co-Founder & CEO at Coinfinity, which sells bitcoin vouchers called “Bitcoinbon” in over 4,000 locations in Austria, told Cryptonews.com:
“Bitcoin vouchers are a convenient way to introduce people to bitcoin without having to go through the process of setting up a wallet and fully registering on an exchange. For many people, a physical purchase at a POS [point of sale] is the preferred way of buying goods – bitcoin vouchers can also help in attracting new customers. Our product Bitcoinbon has been on the market since 2015 and has since helped thousands of people to buy bitcoin quickly and easily.”
While bitcoin vouchers provide a user-friendly way to gift bitcoin or buy small amounts of bitcoin on the go in the Western hemisphere, the real power of bitcoin vouchers lies in the role they can play in bitcoin adoption in emerging markets.
Why?
Because bitcoin vouchers enable anyone with a smartphone to purchase bitcoin in a way they are already buying mobile phone credits.
In Kenya, for example, you can top up your mobile minutes by purchasing an Airtime scratch card voucher at pretty much any kiosk. To load the Airtime credit onto your phone, you scratch open the field where the voucher code is, dial 141, type in the voucher number, and press the OK or Call button.
Thanks to physical bitcoin vouchers, you can buy bitcoin effectively the same way. Therefore, bitcoin vouchers open up simple and easy bitcoin purchases for millions of people who are already familiar with purchasing digital credit using this method.
While crypto exchanges are doing a lot to expand into as many markets as they can, there are compliance requirements that hinder easy access to bitcoin for individuals without documentation or a bank account.
Even leading peer-to-peer (P2P) exchanges that power the majority of bitcoin trading in frontier markets require users to verify themselves using official government documentation. Individuals who don’t possess identification documents can’t use these platforms.
Bitcoin vouchers, on the other hand, can be purchased with cash, and there are no requirements to provide any identification as the amounts “stored” in vouchers typically fall under regulatory reporting requirements for cash purchases.
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Learn more:
– Which Markets Could Benefit the Most from Crypto?
– Central Africa Rolls Out Sango Coin Amid Transparency, Credibility Worries
– Just 18% of Respondents Do Not Expect Bitcoin to Become Legal Tender in 3 Years – Survey
– 40% of Surveyed Lower-income Individuals Want to Use Bitcoin – Not to Make Money
– Crypto Awareness at 76% in Spain – Survey
– Global Professionals Increasingly Interested In Bitcoin & Crypto Payments – Report
– 84% of Surveyed Brazilian High Earners Know What Crypto Is
– Mastercard: 51% of Surveyed Consumers in Latin America & the Caribbean Have ‘Experienced’ Crypto
– One in Seven Wealthy People Now Owns ‘Digital Assets’ – Survey
– 13% of Surveyed Canadians Owned Bitcoin in 2021, Up from 5% in 2020 – Bank of Canada
