UPDATED 07:20 EDT / NOVEMBER 29 2013

NEWS

Bitcoin Black Friday makes Bitcoin bargain hunting easy

While most Black Friday bargain hunters are set to descend on the stores like a pack of rabid animals later today, a new breed of savvy tech-shoppers will do their shopping at home, buying their gifts anonymously using Bitcoin.

That’s right, certain shoppers will be able to buy up all the bargains they need using the crypto-currency that broke the $1,000 barrier earlier this week. Despite the bad press its received in the past, Bitcoin can actually be spent on many things besides drugs and hitmen, as we’re sure to find out later today.

For example, the really adventurous Bitcoin millionaires may want to book a flight into outer space courtesy of Virgin Galactic. But if a short sojourn beyond the atmosphere is a little beyond your budget, you may want to check out the new Bitcoin Black Friday website instead, where hundreds of retailers are offering discounts on gadgets like Google’s Motorola Moto X or the Raspeberry Pi computer. You can also buy things like Reddit gold for a cheaper price, unlocked phones from GSM Nation, art, t-shirts and much more.

One of the best deals spotted by SiliconANGLE so far is that from mobile gift card app Gyft, which is offering 4 percent points back when shoppers use Bitcoin to buy its cards from retailers like Target, Gap, Gamestop, Nike, Old Navy and dozens of others. Alternatively, if you’re looking for an investment opportunity, how about spending a few Bitcoins to get started with mining the crypto-currency? Virtualminingcorp.com is offering a whopping 60 percent discount on the Fast Hash One Platinum Edition Bitcoin mining machine – although readers are warned that Bitcoin mining is far more difficult than most people assume, and they should do so at their own peril.

To be honest, the deals on offer at Bitcoin Black Friday aren’t as exciting as we’d hoped, and it shows that despite all the fanfare, the crypto-currency still has some way to go before it really becomes mainstream. Dozens of big name retailers are yet to embrace Bitcoin, whilst sites like eBay, Amazon and Google all have their own electronic payment systems and are unlikely to play along.

Nevertheless, the Bitcoin community itself is out in force supporting the site. Coinbase, the digital wallet provider, is waiving all transaction fees for 24 hours, while other backers include the Bitcoin Investment Trust, Bitpay, BitGive and BitDazzle.

All in all, there are some 441 retailers offering their wares for Bitcoin, and the site seems to be gaining some momentum, with more than 30,000 unique vistors and 4,00 sign ups to date, reports TechCrunch.


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