Buying and Using Bitcoin Anonymously / Without ID
Looking to buy Bitcoin anonymously? Hate providing your photo ID to different Bitcoin exchanges? In this guide I will try to answer all your questions on how to buy Bitcoins and remain completely anonymous when using it.
Best crypto credit cards?
BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card
BlockFi is one of the first platforms to offer crypto credit card services.
It functions just like any other credit card, but offers exciting rewards in bitcoin.
Key highlights
- No annual fee or foreign transaction fee
- 3.5% bitcoin back (capped at $100) on every purchase in the first 90 days of sign-up
- Rate is 1.5% after 90 days
- For total annual payments over $50,000, the reward rate is 2%
- Users can redeem the rewards monthly
- Rewards are transferred to the BlockFi Interest Account, acting as an additional source of passive income
Who can apply?
Anybody with a decent credit score can apply.
Pre-approved credit cards are offered to some.
Perks
- 0.25% back in bitcoin on eligible trades.
- Bitcoin worth $30 as a referral reward.
- Being a Visa Signature card, it gives added benefits like access to Visa’s Luxury Hotel Collection, rental car savings, travel and purchase protection, and more.
BlockFi may be the first platform to introduce crypto rewards to credit cards, but it is definitely not the best. The reward rates are lower when compared to counterparts. The lack of real-time rewards is a turn-off. More importantly, reward coins are limited to bitcoin.
What are crypto credit cards?
Crypto credit cards are payment cards that credit rewards in crypto.
It could be a debit or credit card. It may facilitate crypto or fiat transactions, or both. The only rule of thumb is that it incentivizes your payment behavior with cryptocurrencies.
When Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin network, he was going for an electronic payment system that doesn’t rely on middlemen. However, this made little sense for long due to the volatile nature of the market. Businesses and laymen deemed it newfangled nonsense.
On the other hand, crypto enthusiasts began to stash the assets. They drove up the market to unprecedented heights; soon, everyone wanted to onboard the crypto wagon.
To cash in the crypto boom, crypto debit cards like Shift Card came into being. However, they bit the dust before they could take off. A flexible payment system was not enough to penetrate the market; the exorbitant fees were just not worth the value offered.
If a product is to captivate everyday users, the easy way forward is through incentivization. That was what SoFi and BlockFi did. They drew more people to their platforms by introducing crypto credit card services.
Soon more ventures from diverse sectors in the fintech space followed suit.
Why use crypto credit cards?
The list below details some of the reasons that draw people to crypto credit cards. The features are not universally common. It can vary from card to card.
- Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. They have seen exponential growth in the past two years alone. Crypto rewards have the potential to grow into a substantial source of money over time.
- No biting the nail trying to convert your crypto to fiat. Your crypto debit card does it all.
- Some of the best crypto credit cards charge little to no fees on services.
- If your expenditure crosses a specific amount, a part of the fees may be waived as a reward.
The drawbacks of crypto credit cards
The opportunity cost involved in crypto payments can be very high. Let’s say you earned 100pts from your transactions redeemable in three months. In the first month, the market was bullish. Expecting it to climb higher, you waited for some time. However, contrary to your calculations, the market crashed, turning your rewards worthless.
Many crypto credit cards offer rewards in a limited number of coins or tokens, depending on the crypto ventures they collaborate with. This is a major turn-off, especially if the coin is on a downtrend.