Whether you view Bitcoins as the true democratization of currency or a passing fad, there are a number of people whom have some of their net worth wrapped up in the currency. While most of those people are purely speculating and hoping that Bitcoins catch on and gain in value, there is a segment of people who would like to spend the cryptocurrency on real world items. That process is now a lot easier thanks to Shift. Shift is a Visa debit card that connects to your Coinable Bitcoin account. Simply use the card any place you would normally use a debit card and the service converts the value of the purchase to Bitcoins and subtracts it from your account. Before you go rushing out to spend your hard earned cryptocurrency, there are a few caveats. First, you have to live in one of the 24 states Shift is allowed to operate in (sorry NY). Second, you are limited to a daily $1000 transaction limit and a $200 daily cap on ATM withdrawals.
The whole idea is pretty fascinating but we aren’t sold. After the collapse of Mt. Gox and word that the Bitcoin Foundation is essentially bankrupt we are left wondering a) how safe is your Bitcoin money and b) are the people involved serious about creating any structure to the currency. Also we aren’t convinced that Bitcoin’s current target audience is looking to embrace a massive financial organization such as Visa; it seems counter to the entire movement. But if you are looking to spend Bitcoins, Shift is your best option, that is unless you buy a lot of things at Dell, Overstock.com, Newegg, or Microsoft.
