Do Any Businesses in Bristol Accept Crypto?

Cryptocurrencies are taking the world by storm, proving their longevity as a disruptor of global financial markets. Thousands of new ones enter the market every year, making their widespread adoption a key priority for many ordinary users, institutional investors, and other large-scale holders alike.

While wider adoption of crypto as a payment method at physical stores has increased a lot in recent years in other regions of the world, tougher regulations in the UK make it a different proposition here. When it comes to Bristol, many businesses do accept cryptocurrencies — though just not at physical stores.

One of the most widespread uses of cryptocurrencies has come from the blockchain sector itself through online platforms like legal crypto casinos in England. According to Kane Pepi, these platforms are becoming highly sought-after since they offer many perks, such as a more anonymous and private experience, great bonuses, and faster payouts.

Such platforms, as well as others that operate online such as major E-commerce brands like Shopify, Lush, and Etsy are accessible from anywhere—even Bristol—and allow customers to shop with cryptocurrency on them. Major brands like Microsoft and Xbox also allow for the purchase of gift cards using cryptocurrency.

Those gift cards can then be used at physical stores. However, this will require there to actually be a physical store where the gift card can be used first. Those with large-scale or diverse crypto holdings, the kind of which may even need a crypto tracker to manage, will find it easier to shop online with crypto since they are likely to own a larger array of cryptocurrencies to choose from besides Bitcoin.

Once we move out of online spaces, it can become a little more tricky to find physical stores in the city that accept cryptocurrency since even crypto-friendly stores may not accept them directly. This is because some stores may only allow the use of cryptocurrencies through specified crypto wallets or crypto payment systems, like Starbucks used to through Bakkt, many of which may not operate in the UK. On the other hand, major chain brands like Burger King accept cryptocurrency. However, their policies can differ from region to region.

Much of the scarcity of physical stores that you can directly purchase from using cryptocurrency stems from the fact that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has introduced some stringent new measures that make it harder for crypto exchanges and custodian wallets to become licensed and operate in the region. As a result, even things like crypto assets-backed Exchange Traded Notes (cETNs) and crypto derivatives have been banned from being sold by retail stores.

The betting culture in the UK is huge, so it’s unsurprising that gambling is one industry that has moved with the times. So, for now, people in Bristol will have to largely content themselves with online stores that accept cryptocurrency and services like crypto gambling as legitimate ways to spend any cryptocurrencies they may hold. However, as the younger generation (many of whom are crypto holders) continue to push for more inclusive and crypto-friendly legislation, it seems it’s going to take a lot longer before places like Bristol can catch up to US cities since the USA currently has more than 30,000 Bitcoin ATMs nationwide.

Top image by Milena Domozetska from Pixabay