To Bit, or not to Bit, that is the question. As crypto acceptance continues to grow around the world, one intrepid traveller is testing just how far having nothing but a wallet full of Bitcoin can get you.
With airlines, hotels, petrol stations and now even Starbucks accepting digital currency, Alex Hobern is taking it one step further on The Payments Race: Round the World.
Representing Team Crypto, sponsored by Wirex, SmartStream and Token, he is traveling from London to Amsterdam (heading West, the long way round) using only decentralised digital currency as a means of payment. At the time of writing he had made it from the UK to the US.
The three competing racers are restricted to bank cards, mobile payments and cash respectively.
After a shaky winter, Cryptocurrency is heading in the right direction again – developing on its way into a vast industry worth more than $240 billion. Yet despite its popularity and practicality of underlying technologies like blockchain, decentralised digital currency is yet to truly experience mainstream acceptance.
Race organiser Ali Paterson, Editor in Chief of Fintech Finance, said: “It’s time to up the game and see the global nature of payments. It is a brilliant and fun opportunity to show not only the limitations of different payment methods but also the cultural differences around the world.”
The latest instalment of The Payments Race comes fresh off the back of successful payments races in the US, Asia and Europe.
The race ends at the Money 20/20 expo in Amsterdam on the 3rd of June and is captured on camera along the way. Check out one of the latest episodes above.
