Owning bitcoin is a superpower. Over time, it changes your mindset — and your financial reality.

Instead of watching your money lose value to inflation, you begin to see it grow. Hold bitcoin long enough, and you’re no longer just trying to get by — you’re building real, lasting wealth.

Bitcoin gives you the tools to thrive financially, with the kind of long-term growth fiat could never offer.

It’s also a giant middle finger to the banking system and the government’s fiat currency — systems that have quietly eroded people’s wealth for generations.

Bitcoin has a way of turning spendthrifts into radical savers. You start measuring your net worth in sats, not dollars. That new phone you bought in 2020? It sure seems like a rather expensive device when priced in bitcoin instead.

Just look at what happened to the COVID stimulus checks — what seemed like “free money” at the time could’ve become so much more if converted to Bitcoin and held.

Let’s say you bought bitcoin with your COVID stimulus money in April 2020. How much would that be worth today, just over 5 years later?

Well, look at that. An increase of 1500% in only 5 years. Bitcoin has performed this way for its entire history, and according to hardcore bitcoiners, it’s going up forever.

So if you’ve been investing your monthly surplus into Bitcoin, there may come a time when you want to enjoy the rewards of your foresight — without sacrificing the privacy you’ve worked hard to protect by buying anonymously and learning to transact privately.

Now the question is, what can you buy with bitcoin? And what’s the most efficient, and private way?

In this article, we’ll look at some of the best ways to spend bitcoin without KYC (no ID verification) and I will show you how many options you have in 2025.

Aqua Wallet’s New Dolphin Visa Card

Aqua Wallet is one of the best self-custody bitcoin wallets that exists today. You can save and spend bitcoin using a combination of on-chain, lightning and liquid.

On-chain bitcoin refers to transactions that are recorded directly on the Bitcoin blockchain — the public ledger that tracks all Bitcoin movements. This is a normal, “layer 1” bitcoin transaction. The transaction fees are typically higher than lightning/liquid, and transactions are much less private.

Lightning and liquid, known as “layer 2” bitcoin, are the best ways to spend bitcoin in 2025. They are cheaper and more private.

Aqua’s Dolphin Card is a prepaid Visa debit card that you can use for many online purchases.

It is a non-KYC way to spend your bitcoin, so none of your purchases will be tied to your name. For this, they charge a 1% fee for every transaction.

I’ve been waiting many years for something like this, and so far, I’m impressed.

Whenever I want to make a purchase, I will send bitcoin from my Coldcard hardware wallet to the Aqua Wallet to fund my Dolphin card, and use it for the majority of my online purchases.

Aqua’s Dolphin Card is still in beta, but soon it will be widely available, and there will even be a physical card for in-store purchases.

Unfortunately, some stores still don’t accept prepaid cards like this one, and it isn’t available in some countries so your mileage may vary.

But if you can use it, Aqua’s Dolphin Card is a fantastically private way to use your bitcoin for online purchases.

Bitrefill

Bitrefill is a very useful alternative to the Dolphin Card. You can buy anonymous gift cards for many of the biggest retailers in the world. Walmart, Amazon, Uber, Home Depot, AirBNB, Target, Safeway, Steam and many more. If you’re in the US, you can also buy a prepaid Visa gift card, similar to the Dolphin Card.

It’s the most popular way to spend bitcoin for good reason. You can buy gift cards to use anywhere in the world, and they accept both bitcoin and lightning.

Bitrefill is like buying gift cards for cash — cheap and private. You don’t even need to make an account or use an email address. And if you pay with lightning, you get your gift card code immediately.

All you have to do is choose the fiat value of the gift card you want to buy from Bitrefill.com and select between on-chain and lightning bitcoin.

Scan the QR code with a wallet like Aqua, Phoenix or Bull Bitcoin, send the payment, and you will receive the card immediately (with lightning), or once your bitcoin transaction has been confirmed (if you pay on-chain).

It’s so ridiculously easy. You might even start feeling angry about all your inefficient and restrictive past banking experiences.

This is why we buy and spend bitcoin — to free our wealth from the banking prison.

Spending Bitcoin Locally

Depending on where you live, you may be surprised to see how many local stores accept bitcoin. And why shouldn’t they accept the best form of money ever known to man?

Whether they hodl the bitcoin or immediately convert it to fiat, there’s absolutely no downside for them. It’s a great way to invite bitcoiners to their store.

If you’d like to find these businesses, visit btcmap.org. Here’s an example. I just opened the map and took a look at Central America.

And what the heck is going on in Costa Rica? So many businesses there accept bitcoin! That’s what happens when bitcoiners build a circular economy.

A bitcoin circular economy is a system where individuals and businesses earn, spend, and save in bitcoin without needing to convert it into traditional currencies. It promotes self-sustaining economic activity entirely within the bitcoin ecosystem.

In Costa Rica, a community-driven organization called The Bitcoin Jungle has been promoting the use of bitcoin by locals, tourists and expats. They are based in Costa Rica’s “Golden Triangle” which includes the towns of Uvita, Ojochal, Dominical and more.

This is a place where you can live entirely on The Bitcoin Standard.

Bitcoin circular economies will continue to grow as more people recognize its superiority over fiat currency.

Another example is Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador, one of the first circular economies. Even in Canada, adoption is growing — in Vancouver alone, over 90 businesses now accept bitcoin. Check the map to see how many businesses in your area accept bitcoin.

This is a grassroots movement, and you can be part of it. If you want a business to accept Bitcoin, just ask — you might be surprised by who says yes.

Tools for Digital Privacy – Paid with Bitcoin

While most major retailers still don’t accept Bitcoin, there are many products and services you can purchase directly with it. For the most part, these products and services are privacy-focused. These days, privacy-oriented companies seem to be among the few that respect their customers enough to accept bitcoin. Let me show you the products and services I use.

1. Mullvad VPN – Still the only VPN I’ve found that truly respects your anonymity — no account, no email, just an account number. Especially if you’re a bitcoiner, it’s essential to encrypt your internet usage and helpful to adopt an IP address from a different country. They accept both on-chain and Lightning Bitcoin payments.
2. Tuta Mail – This email service is very private, and they make it easy to pay with Bitcoin. They’ve partnered with proxysto.re to sell their premium service via gift card, which you can pay for directly with Bitcoin. This is the email provider we use for our website.
3. Cryptomator – Also available on proxysto.re, Cryptomator is software you should use to encrypt all personal documents on your computer. This way, if anyone gains access to your device, they won’t be able to see your sensitive personal information. Cryptomator is free on desktop, but you can support them by buying a license for their Android app. You can also use Veracrypt, a free service, to encrypt entire drives, external hard drives, or flash drives. K3tan’s written an excellent blog post on Cryptomator if you’d like to learn more.
4. Brax.me – This company, run by popular YouTuber Rob Braxman, accepts Bitcoin payments for various services like VPNs, email, and VOIP numbers. Their VOIP service is fantastic for receiving texts and making calls without KYC (Know Your Customer).
5. Sync.com (encrypted cloud storage) – You can ditch iCloud and Google Drive since they don’t respect your privacy. Sync isn’t quite as user-friendly as these big tech cloud storage options, but it uses end-to-end encryption and accepts Bitcoin for payment.
6. Silent.Link – Use this service to buy a no-KYC eSIM card for your phone. You can get data-only plans or options with a phone number for SMS. Silent.Link gives you access to data worldwide without handing over your personal information. Prices are as low as $1–$2 per GB.
7. Textverified – The OG SMS verification service where you can load your account with Bitcoin to get temporary phone numbers for all those invasive companies that require phone verification for registration.
8. Coldcard – Still the #1 hardware wallet you can buy and worth every satoshi. Coldcard’s Q and MK4 are both excellent, feature-rich options for storing your Bitcoin without ever touching an internet-connected device. The Q model is especially user-friendly thanks to its QR code reader and full QWERTY keyboard.
9. Start9 – If you dive deep enough into Bitcoin, you might want to run your own node. Start9 has developed an operating system that’s perfect for building a plug-and-play server. Their Server One and Server Pure are powerful computers that let you run a Bitcoin node, Lightning node, self-hosted cloud storage, and more.
10. Parmanode.com – @parman_the on Twitter sells a variety of Bitcoin privacy products, including nodes, signing devices (hardware wallets), and server computers built from new and refurbished laptops. One of the best features of his hardware wallets is their incredible discretion — it’s just a laptop!

Luxury Bitcoin Products

Once you hodl bitcoin long enough, you might feel like rewarding yourself some beautiful artisanal products. Here are my recommendations:

1. The Leather Mint – If you haven’t seen one of these wallets, you’re missing out. This store runs fully on the Bitcoin standard — you can only pay with Bitcoin (on-chain or Lightning). They craft stunning, luxurious leather goods including wallets, belts, Coldcard cases, and bracelets. Many of their wallets are made from high-end Cordovan leather, sourced from a small artisan tannery in Japan.
2. Art by Madex – The creative genius behind Bull Bitcoin’s branding and graphic design, Madex is a true master of his craft. He creates fine art and regalia necklaces, available through his store at madex.art or directly from him at Bitcoin conferences.

Conclusion

If you value privacy and understand Bitcoin, you can take a real step away from the traditional banking system. Sell your dollars, buy Bitcoin, hold it securely, and spend it privately. Done right, it can be almost as private as cash, and there are plenty of ways to spend it — just make sure you’re always buying or earning back more. It would be a shame to enjoy cool things at the expense of your future Bitcoin stack.

But remember, Bitcoin isn’t truly anonymous, and privacy can never be bulletproof. It’s pseudonymous, meaning your Bitcoin address can be linked to your real identity if you slip up. That’s why I usually recommend using the Lightning Network for most transactions — Lightning payments aren’t recorded on a public ledger forever, offering better privacy.

Even though bitcoin privacy is imperfect, traditional finance can be so much worse…

When you use your credit card online, you’re exposing yourself to identity theft. Plus, Visa and Mastercard track your every move and likely sell your data. Breaking free from the big tech and banking prison we’re all trapped in can earn you a great deal more personal freedom.

So buy Bitcoin privately, learn to secure it, spend it anonymously in various ways, and set your financial life free.

If you’re ready to buy bitcoin, I recommend visiting a bitcoin ATM with limited-KYC near you (find one at coinatmradar.com, look for SMS verification only and use one of the SMS services I mentioned in this article) or buying from an exchange that respects your privacy. All exchanges require KYC to some extent, but some are better than others. Stay away from the big exchanges like Coinbase and Binance unless you want your data on the dark web and your privacy compromised forever.

If you’re in the USA, I generally recommend looking into River.com or Bitcoinwell.com, but in Canada and Europe (and Mexico and Costa Rica), Bull Bitcoin is the best exchange.

Bull Bitcoin is bitcoin only, so if somehow my article has convinced you to buy an altcoin, look elsewhere.

But if you want bitcoin, Bull offers many useful features:

• Best-in-class customer service – unlike most large exchanges, you get to speak to a real human being.
• Multiple ways to fund your account – Bank transfers, e-transfers, SEPA, or even buy with cash in-person at Canada Post.
• Lightning, Liquid and DCA – Save on fees and increase privacy with bitcoin buys and on lightning and liquid networks. You can even set up hourly, daily or weekly dollar-cost-average buys.
• Pay Bills with Bitcoin – You can sell bitcoin directly to any credit card, bank account, or bill payment invoice. Bull Bitcoin allows you to live on a Bitcoin Standard.
• Respect For Your Privacy – Bull Bitcoin never sells your personal information to governments or chain analysis companies.

If you’d like to make your first purchase on Bull Bitcoin, use my referral link to save 0.25% on all bitcoin buys, and help me get a small commission to stack a few extra sats.

If you’re getting into bitcoin for the first time, you might be wondering if you should use Coinbase or Binance exchanges. I’d imagine that you’ve spent quite some time on Google, trying to find the most essential information.

What’s the best bitcoin/crypto wallet?

How should you buy bitcoin?

How does it work, and why are there 100 million different coins on coinmarketcap?

So, you go to Google, search “Where should I buy bitcoin?” and the beast of crypto immediately shows up at the top of page #1.

Is Coinbase Any Good?

Apparently, Coinbase is the most trusted cryptocurrency exchange. They are so legit, in fact, that they are the only crypto company listed on the S&P 500.

Wait a minute, does that make them more trustworthy, or less? Do you really want to buy bitcoin from a giant tech company?

How’s their privacy policy and security? Do they lock down your KYC data in a secret vault?

Problems With Coinbase

No, Coinbase customer service reps were successfully targeted in a social engineering attack as recently as May 2025. The hackers got customer’s full names, photo ID, physical addresses, transaction histories and wallet balances. That’s so dangerous!

If you’re a Coinbase customer, you’ve likely received several scam calls. It’s been a recurring issue for several years, and this data leak will certainly make it worse.

Big tech companies like Coinbase will often set up their customer service departments overseas to maximize profits at the expense of their customers.

If your crypto gets frozen while in Coinbase custody, good luck getting a quick response from customer service. Good. Luck. It is a supremely stressful experience to lose access to your own money, especially when you can’t get a proper response from a real human being.

Remember: Not your keys, not your coins!

Let me tell you about an experience I recently had with Coinbase Commerce.

I needed to subscribe to a keyword research tool to improve Your Sovereign Family’s SEO. As usual, I searched for a service that accepts payment in bitcoin, or in this case, crypto. This particular SEO Tool company accepts crypto using Coinbase Commerce.

I was surprised when I went to pay and I saw that I couldn’t pay directly to a bitcoin address. Instead I had to connect a wallet like Brave Wallet or Metamask (multi-coin wallets).

I thought, “Okay, I guess I’ll just get one of these wallets then and get this over with.”

Then I saw that Coinbase Commerce wasn’t even allowing me to pay with bitcoin. I was forced to use ethereum!

This is the kind of BS you have to put up with when dealing with Coinbase.

What About Binance?

Binance was founded in China in 2017, and is currently the most used crypto exchange in the world.

Like Coinbase, Binance also takes custody of your bitcoin/crypto. You can withdraw to your own wallet, but by default, they control your coins.

If you look into the reputation of their customer service, you’ll find many stories of people having their funds frozen, and trying to navigate through chat bots and useless customer service reps to try to correct the issue.

Fortunately, this Binance user from the above Reddit post was able to regain access to his money. With great relief, he reminded everyone to keep their crypto out of exchanges whenever possible.

Most users of Binance and Coinbase will never have their funds frozen, but when you trust your money with third parties like Coinbase, Binance, or a big bank, they have the ability to freeze your money.

In The Age of Bitcoin, why would any of us be willing to put up with this? This is bitcoin! You only have to download a wallet, buy btc directly into self-custody, and you become a financial sovereign. Nobody can freeze your funds or close your account.

Bitcoin, used properly, is pure financial freedom.

Cash Out of Coinbase

Coinbase and Binance are two of the most popular exchanges for new bitcoiners, but there are better options out there.

Take a look at this list of the most trusted crypto exchanges. Notice that Binance and Coinbase are in the top 5. Consider this list the “Top 50 Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Avoid at ALL COSTS!”

Bitcoin is an incredibly powerful tool for freedom — a beautiful gift for sovereign individuals and families.

But only if you’re smart about how you use it.

If you’ve never used Coinbase before, good. But if you’re a current customer, it’s time to cash out from Coinbase and all companies like Coinbase so you can take control of your own wealth.

When you buy bitcoin on Coinbase, they keep records of all your transactions and bitcoin addresses. They sell this information to governments and chain analysis firms, so you have to take the necessary steps to clean your coins of identifying information.

How to Get Your Coins Off Coinbase

This is very important if you care about your anonymity, so let’s look at your options for fixing this mess while staying invested in bitcoin.

Sell It All and Buy It Back Privately

The best course of action here, is to just sell all your cryptocurrency on Coinbase and withdraw the cash to your bank account. Keep in mind that this could leave you with a huge tax bill if you’ve made significant gains. If you can’t afford to sell your bitcoin and crypto, the next option will be for you.

If it makes sense for you to sell and cash out, you’ll now have a bunch of trashy fiat in your bank account. What now?

Buy bitcoin from an ATM, or a company that respects your privacy. There are several options that are better than Coinbase. They have superior customer service, they don’t sell scammy altcoins, and they encourage self-custody.

Most importantly, they don’t sell your KYC information.

My top recommendation for Canadians and Europeans is Bull Bitcoin. They are incredibly feature rich, and they have best-in-class customer service who will actually put in the time to guide you through the process.

Use my Bull Bitcoin referral link for 0.25% off your bitcoin purchases. I will receive a small commission.

If you’re in the US, I recommend River or Bitcoin Well. Check them out and see which you prefer. As long as you always take self-custody of your bitcoin, you can’t go wrong with either.

Coinjoin and Layer Hopping

If you can’t afford to sell your bitcoin due to massive gains — first off, congratulations. There is still an effective option for you take back your privacy.

You need to break the connection between your name and your bitcoin addresses so that you can have forward privacy, and the best ways to do that are coinjoins or swaps into lightning.

A coinjoin is a collaborative bitcoin transaction, where all participants combine their chunks of bitcoin (utxo) together to obscure the link between addresses and identities. It can effectively anonymize your UTXO, but the process is very expensive.

You need to run your own bitcoin node, or download wasabi wallet to do a coinjoin. This is a more advanced privacy technique, but very effective, so it’s worth exploring.

Another option is layer hopping, which refers to swapping from bitcoin to lightning, and then back. This method is cheap and easy, but not necessarily as private. Still, it should provide some privacy if you need to withdraw your bitcoin from an exchange like Coinbase or Binance.

Summary: Coinbase vs. Binance

In the battle of Coinbase vs. Binance, choose neither. These companies and other major exchanges are very harmful to bitcoin privacy, have awful customer service, and they have the ability to freeze your coins on a whim. If you want to be sovereign, you need to avoid them at all costs.

They are very convenient, and the majority of bitcoin buyers will gravitate to them, but that’s only because they don’t know about the vastly superior alternatives.

Either that, or they’re degenerate altcoin gamblers. Or perhaps they aren’t willing to take on the responsibility that comes with self-custody.

But if you’re reading this blog, you aspire to be sovereign, and bitcoin self-custody is a powerful tool for financial freedom, location independence and privacy.

Don’t make the mistake of using Coinbase or Binance.