It has been a really important year for Bitcoin with its market value increasing dramatically over the past 12 months. Investors saw its increasing adoption as a payment method and decided to back its potential.
In addition to inflows of capital from investors keen to hold Cryptocurrency, substantial resources were also invested in the technical development of the underlying infrastructure needed to support its wider adoption.
However the question must be asked has it now become a victim of its own success ? Its value is now so high that it is expensive to use as a payment method, in some cases it no longer makes sense at all. It is also much slower than alternative options with its competitors getting faster all the time.
Whilst it is still accepted as a form of payment, we look at the strangest things you can buy with Bitcoin in Ireland today.
Here we go!
1. A Horse
For the princely sum of four Bitcoin you can join the sport of Kings and buy your own racehorse. Tinnakill House in County Laois has become the first stud farm in the world to sell a race horse for Bitcoin.
The horse which has a good pedigree according to the vendors, comes from good stock. Tinnakill house has bred three Group 1 winners since its foundation in 2002.
Whilst it may no longer make a lot of sense to use Bitcoin to buy Pizza, using it to make a high value purchase like a racehorse could be an idea. It could be a great idea if you were one of the lucky few that bought Bitcoin for just a few dollars only 6 years ago !
2. A House
Based in Ballyclare in Northern Ireland, Hagan Homes recently announced that they would accept Bitcoin as payment for its houses.
Whilst on the surface this may seem unusual, it again might make sense. Trading large amounts of Bitcoin can be expensive with exchange fees and foreign exchange fees eating up some of your gains. Exchanges are also not always very easy to use.
Buying directly with Bitcoin can help to avoid this and if you have significant holdings, this could be an option for you.
It would be interesting to see how one of these transactions is structured to see if it really makes sense to do it this way. Still another very innovative option.
3. A Chocolate Cake
Dublin recently saw the launch of its first crypto cafe. Whilst a good idea, it does accept Bitcoin as payment.
Given the cost of making a transaction using Bitcoin and the time it takes for a transaction to be confirmed through the Blockchain, we are little unsure how this one would work exactly!
Sounds like a job for Ripple or Stellar Lumen really.
4. A Pianist
What? well you want to lure some of the worlds most talented pianists to your competition, how do you do it?
A world-first in music competition, Ireland’s most talented pianists will take home Bitcoin prizes in recognition of their stunning performances at this year’s 9th Piano Academy National Festival.
According to the organiser of the competition, Dr. Archie Chen , “With so much excitement currently surrounding Bitcoin, we’re thrilled to offer it as a reward for the incredible talents of our performers seeing it as an exciting fusion of old world classical music and the new, digital world of Bitcoin”.
An exciting prize for those bullish about the prospects of its future value for sure.
5. A night in a Farm House
The Ring Farm House in County Offaly is a comfortable Bed and Breakfast based in a very scenic location.
These innovative operators accept Bitcoin as payment for accommodation. This was along the lines of the original goal of IrishCoin.
This could be the perfect place to unwind and escape from the ups and downs of the Crypto markets. When it all gets too much you could just decamp to Offaly and hide away from all of the chaos.
Hopefully this guide offers you some idea of the different ways Bitcoin is being used in Ireland. If your business is using crypto in an interesting way, get in touch! we would love to hear from you about more things you can buy with Bitcoin in Ireland.
Celtic Crypto 