Hodl or spend? Retailers offer Black Friday deals for those paying with cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency adoption is slowly but surely making its way to the mainstream — a notion that has become more apparent as major retailers like PayPal announce support for digital currencies. As such, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that crypto holders may be keen to spend some of their digital currency this holiday season. 

According to a new report from Forrester and blockchain payments service provider BitPay, cryptocurrency adopters tend to spend more than other consumers. Based on interviews with BitPay merchants, the report noted that cryptocurrency users have an average order value of $450, compared to about $200 for non-cryptocurrency users.

Merrick Theobald, vice president of marketing for BitPay, told Cointelegraph that often times when the price of Bitcoin increases, there is also an increase in payment transactions:

“Coupled that with the holiday spending and specific deals for the crypto community, we do anticipate Black Friday and even Cyber Monday to be big shopping days for spending digital currencies like Bitcoin.”

According to Theobald, a number of BitPay merchants are offering special Bitcoin deals for Black Friday, catering to shoppers who prefer to pay in crypto. He further commented that jewelry, electronic retailers, and other industries often faced with fraudulent transactions are offering special discounts for payments made in crypto.

For example, Ace Jewelers is giving 20% off luxury watches and jewelry for BitPay users with the code “BF2020BitP@y.” Newegg Australia and Newegg Hong Kong are also offering discounts on online orders via BitPay. Additionally, Muft Electric Bikes is offering BitPay’s U.S. users 10% off with the code “HODL.”

Pay with Bitcoin, get Bitcoin back

In addition to Black Friday deals from BitPay merchants, Lolli – an online Bitcoin rewards platform – is offering users additional Bitcoin back for purchases made on Black Friday. Lolli caters to over 1,000 mainstream online stories including Nike, Sephora, and Expedia. Lolli also announced an integration with eBay via a tweet on Nov. 25.

Through its Chrome extension, Lolli provides users with up to 30% back in Bitcoin rewards. Alex Adelman, chief executive officer of Lolli, told Cointelegraph that for Black Friday several of Lolli’s retailers have increased their rewards rates.

For instance, Groupon is offering a 12.5% reward rate rather than a 9% rate. Booking.com is also offering a 7% reward rate versus a 3.5% rate. The dog food company Chewy has increased their rate to 7% from 4.5% this holiday. In addition, Lolli has encouraged users to share their purchases via Twitter to get even more Bitcoin rewards directly from the platform.

Adelman said that Lolli is offering its highest Bitcoin back rates ever this holiday season, noting that the platform has recently brought on over 250 new retailers. Adelman attributed Lolli’s growth to the increasing price of Bitcoin, which has piqued mainstream interest. “Lolli.com has more than tripled our growth rate from this time last year. This is a great signal for mass bitcoin adoption,” Adelman said.

Church’s Chicken Venezuela offered a Black Friday deal for Dash users

It’s also notable to mention that the fast food restaurant chain Church’s Chicken Venezuela offered a Black Friday deal for customers paying in the digital currency Dash. Church’s Chicken Venezuela has been accepting Dash payments since 2018, serving as the first fast food chain in Venezuela to accept crypto. Currently, Church’s Venezuela also accepts Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) payments.

Orlando Gustavo Navas, general director of Church’s Chicken Venezuela, told Cointelegraph that Black Friday is a special event celebrated in Venezuela’s Sambil Caracas shopping mall during Nov. 20 to Nov. 22. During this time, Church’s Chicken offered customers paying with Dash a combo meal for two people for $5 and a combo meal for five people for $10. Navas said:

“These combos could only be enjoyed when paying with Dash. To accommodate this we had in-store support from a team organized by Dash. The idea was to give customers the opportunity to enjoy these promotions, while providing them with a live experience of learning how to use cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.”

Navas shared that 800 customers paid with Dash during Black Friday, further demonstrating the acceptance of crypto payments in countries like Venezuela. “The result was undoubtedly a success. People are eager for crypto solutions, from the elderly to teenagers who want to know about how to use cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies could be part of the solution here in Venezuela and that is why it is so important for us to be part of this process,” Navas said.

Crypto wallet providers offer Black Friday deals to drive adoption

Crypto wallet providers are offering Black Friday deals to help individuals get started with cryptocurrency or to further secure their funds. Wallet provider Ledger is offering 40% off its Nano X and Nano S hardware wallets during Nov. 23 to Nov. 30.

A Ledger spokesperson told Cointelegraph that as crypto prices continue to rise, it’s become more important than ever to secure funds. The company noted that there has been a 50% increase in turnover in the last two weeks, as well as higher conversion rates from browser to customer. “On LedgerLive, the volume of purchase has increased by 33% in buy transactions, while the average crypto shopping cart has also increased in the last fifteen days,” a Ledger spokesperson said.

Discounted NFTs for Black Friday

In addition to physical goods being discounted this Black Friday, some nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, are being offered at a special rate.

Cointelegraph’s talented illustrators recently created over two dozen NFTs inspired by cryptocurrency and blockchain concepts. The NFTs portray these concepts through famous murals and paintings, like those from Salvador Dali and Leonardo da Vinci.

These unique NFTs can be purchased on Rarible.com, a community-owned digital collectibles marketplace. For Black Friday, Cointelegraph is offering a 50% discount on the collectible NFTs. In addition, Cointelegraph will be holding auctions for the artwork through Nov. 30, which is Cyber Monday.

Upland, an NFT community, is also hosting a virtual Thanksgiving scavenger hunt beginning on Nov. 26 through Nov. 27. Players who register will have a chance to win virtual properties and will receive a Thanksgiving themed block explorer.