Bitcoin—the currency of choice for buying illegal goods online—has cultivated quite the bad-boy image. But some entrepreneurs believe a wholesome makeover could take this unregulated digital currency mainstream, and what could be more wholesome than holiday shopping?
On Black Friday, Bitcoin boosters are urging shoppers to ditch their credit cards and open up their Bitcoin wallets. And shoppers like David Allison are doing just that. He's been giving a lot of thought to what he'll buy for his wife this Christmas.
"My wife and I are expecting a baby in March," he says. "And I know she loves the concept of nesting."
He's been eyeing a piece of jewelry he found on a site called Bitdazzle. It's called a "Nesting Together" necklace. The product image shows three little metallic eggs nestling inside coiled silver wire, kind of like a tiny bird's nest with chicks ready to hatch.
"It's pretty cute, and I think that she'd like it," Allison says, hovering over the "Add To Cart" button. "Bitdazzle shows me, too, that it's 0.042 Bitcoin."
Or $34. A nice stocking stuffer, he says. Especially because he's essentially getting it for free.
About a year ago, Allison earned himself one Bitcoin. He didn't pay for it. He got it through a process called mining. Basically, he programmed his computer to solve really tricky puzzles while he slept. Back then, one Bitcoin was worth a measly $10 or so. But by the time I interviewed Allison, his Bitcoin had skyrocketed to nearly $800.
"I've just held them," he says. "I saw the value continuously increasing. But now it does seem like a great time to spend."
Allison thinks it's a great time to spend because now he can actually buy things he wants.
Online drug dens like the infamous Silk Road have been shut down, and mainstream Bitcoin markets like Bitdazzle are popping up in their place, offering crafty, legal products like handmade soaps, jewelry and other gift-worthy knick-knacks.
Hieu Bui is one of the entrepreneurs behind Bitdazzle. He's the CEO of a startup based in downtown San Diego. (Full disclosure: Allison and Bui both work at the same startup incubator, but for different companies. They're not close friends outside of the startup scene.)
Bui sees mainstream potential for Bitcoin, but only if it can shed its negative associations. He says his company is proactive about keeping Bitdazzle legit.
"Everyday, our team that you see behind me actually looks through every merchant who signed up, all their products and we ban things that aren't above board," Bui says.
But if everything's on the up-and-up, why should shoppers use Bitcoin at all? If they don't need to be untraceable while buying stuff that could land them in jail, what's the point?
沒有留言:
張貼留言