By JP Buntinx - June 1, 2019

Despite the obvious appeal cryptocurrencies have to the majority of the community, there are still a lot of people who don’t see the added benefits. While it is evident Bitcoin and altcoins are speculative first and foremost, there are other numerous use cases to look into as well. Even in 2019, those use cases have not changed all that much, but it is crucial to remind onlookers as to what these currencies can achieve.

Buying Stuff Online With a Potential Discount

Perhaps the most obvious use case for Bitcoin and altcoins outside of speculation and trading is spending it like a currency. There are many ways to spend one’s cryptocurrency on goods and services regardless of one’s locations around the world. Especially when one doesn’t mind jumping through a few hoops, there isn’t much that can’t be bought with Bitcoin, either online or in-store. It may take some effort, but a potential discount of 5% or more does require some input from the end user.

Especially when it comes to the many different gift card providers accepting cryptocurrency payments, the sky is virtually limit. Services like Gyft make it easy to spend Bitcoin – albeit indirectly – at hundreds of retailers whenever one wants to do so. Other intermediary services allow users to buy anything online with cryptocurrency, as long as the vendor ships to the customer’s country. It works quite well, although not everyone likes to rely on additional third-party service providers for buying goods on the internet.

Sending Money Globally

While it might be perhaps the obvious use case for cryptocurrency, it is also one of those aspects people are seemingly far less interested in these days. Bitcoin, as well as the major cryptocurrencies, can easily be transferred around the world as a solution to replace traditional money and bank transfers. Since anyone with an internet connection can get involved in cryptocurrencies, it is more accessible than traditional banking with far fewer requirements to contend with.

Especially now that services such as Telegram and WhatsApp bots with cryptocurrency support are becoming more common, things will undoubtedly get very interesting. One has to keep in mind most of these services are limited to just Bitcoin, although it doesn’t take much effort to ask for one’s wallet address either. Further streamlining this process is a necessity to achieve mainstream adoption, but things are progressing rather nicely.

Lending Services for Passive Income

Another logical option to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is to let them accumulate more coins in a passive manner. While most of the top currencies do not support staking to increase holders’ balances, the lending services on the market make this process a lot more straightforward. Depending on one’s currency, users can often pocket between 0.5% and 8% interest per annum these days. It is more than one would get for keeping funds in a savings account.

Albeit there are many different cryptocurrency lending services these days, users are still relying on third-party providers for this specific business model. There is nothing wrong with doing so by any means, but it all comes down to whether or not the company is a custodian of user funds. Assuming that is not the case, it is definitely an option worth looking into to earn some passive income. However, just buying cryptocurrency to get in on the lending action is not necessarily an advisable course of action.

Freelance Work and Bitcoin Wages

Last but not least, there are hundreds, if not thousands of freelancers active in countries where traditional banking services are hard to come by or simply cumbersome to use. Additionally, there are plenty of people who work for international companies or employers. Finding a suitable payment method which works across borders without incurring high fees is something that will benefit everyone involved.

Even for those companies who do not want to get involved in cryptocurrency directly, there are viable alternatives. Using services such as Bitwage allows companies and employers to use traditional payment methods, whereas the recipient can convert the payments to Bitcoin as they see fit. Thanks to services like these, freelancers all over the world can get in on the Bitcoin action and not cause any major headaches for employers along the way.

Full article and images taken from Null TX.