November 22, 2018 8:00 PM
The post-Thanksgiving event is going into its seventh year.
Launched several years ago by crypto enthusiast Jon Holmquist to promote bitcoin awareness, Bitcoin Black Friday is a little slice of consumerism for the crypto world. Held the same day as the famous shopping celebration, the event features deals and discounts for customers who pay in bitcoin at participating merchants. Think of it as a Cyber Monday for the blockchain crowd.
Last year, big names in the space joined the capitalist fun, including hardware wallet companies Ledger, which offered 21 percent off its Nano S model, and Trezor, which touted a “buy two, get three” deal. Additionally, 2017 saw the introduction of a “currency-agnostic” celebration – shops accepting any cryptocurrency could be listed, though the focus remained on bitcoin merchants “due to the [large] amount of them,” according to Holmquist.
Major, non-crypto-focused retailers have also participated in the event throughout the years. For example, in 2013, online dating site OK Cupid and social news aggregator reddit had sales to entice individuals to spend their bitcoin.
As for 2018, Holmquist told ETHNews that “with the price [of bitcoin] where it is,” he does not believe Bitcoin Black Friday “will be a big event this year.” He continued, “I am hosting it again mainly as a community event.”
Still, multiple merchants have signed up to offer deals for the annual shopping celebration. Participants range from BitSoaps, a cryptocurrency-inspired soap store, to Cryptoart, which sells artistic paper bitcoin wallets. Holmquist added that “with every year, it’s a motley crew of merchants selling essentially everything under the sun.”
To #hodl or spend your crypto this Friday, that’s the question.
ETHNews does not endorse Bitcoin Black Friday or any other blockchain-related sales event.
Daniel Putney is a full-time writer for ETHNews. He received his bachelor’s degree in English writing from the University of Nevada, Reno, where he also studied journalism and queer theory. In his free time, he writes poetry, plays the piano, and fangirls over fictional characters. He lives with his partner, three dogs, and two cats in the middle of nowhere, Nevada.
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