Since bitcoin’s epic increase in value over the past two years, there’s been quite a few individuals who’ve fallen into a lot of money. Sadly, me not included.
Take, for example, the Norwegian man who made a $26 investment by purchasing 5,000 bitcoins in 2009. He received the shock of a lifetime last year when he discovered his investment was worth $850,000.
He’s not alone.
Others around the world have become millionaires, even billionaires in such a short span of time. And while they have the option of cashing out into fiat, some have elected to keep their wealth in bitcoin.
And while bitcoin acceptance among merchants isn’t yet ubiquitous (baby steps, people), that doesn’t mean the crypto jet set can’t live the high life with luxuries most of us won’t ever experience.
Real estate
There have been some rather high-profile real estate sales involving bitcoin. Recently, we learned of a villa sold in Bali, Indonesia for $500,000 paid for using the digital currency.
In another case, a tech entrepreneur with a home Tiburon, California listed his home this month for $3.6 million, and a South Carolina homeowner listed his property for $2.7 million, payable in bitcoin, of course.
And don’t forget the Las Vegas tycoon selling his mansion for a whopping $7.85 million in bitcoin, too.
The cases go on. There’s a decent variety of properties available for prospective (and wealthy) homeowners who got into the bitcoin game as just the right time.
And even if a property owner isn’t explicitly stating he/she is selling for bitcoins, services like BitPay can make a bitcoin-to-fiat transition, particularly for these large transactions, simple.
Just ask Josh Zerlan of Butterfly Labs, who recently spent $500,000 in bitcoin on a home that wasn’t advertised on sale as bitcoin-friendly (the sellers admitted they were scared, but it worked out).
Air travel
Forget getting crammed in coach class or in a sub-par first class cabin aboard United Airlines (I’m still angry about the chocolate that was smudged on the seat that ended up on my pants, United.).
The wealthy bitcoin holders of the world have the option to use their digital money to charter private flights.
Take a look at PrivateFly.com, who announced bitcoin acceptance earlier this year. They will grant you access to a fleet of over 7,000 aircraft to suit your travel needs.
Lunch in Paris, and dinner in New York? Sounds lovely. Just be prepared to shell out a pretty penny — or, err, bitcoin.
If you were wondering, bitcoin millionaire Olivier Janssens became the first to charter a flight from Brussels to Nice using the service. Perhaps if the value of bitcoin continues a monumental increase, you can too!
Sea travel
Looking for a ship that’ll make you fit in with the elites at the Port of Málaga? How about a 120-foot mega yacht on sale for $11 million worth of bitcoin?
If that’s too much of an investment, you can now actually rent a yacht, catamaran, and other types of vessels using digital money.
Last week, a Croatian yacht charter company began accepting bitcoin due to expensive credit card/bank wire fees.
Hey, it’s your gain — if you have the coins to spend.
Space travel
Wait – what? Well, it’s not really space, but Virgin Galactic accepts bitcoins for rides into the upper atmosphere for $250,000 per head.
So far a number of people have paid with the digital currency, including a flight attendant from Hawaii who called herself an early adopter.
If you’re lucky, you might even be able to hitch a ride with Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, who are confirmed passengers on future Virgin Galactic flights (just keep Bieber up there, please).
Autos
If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, perhaps of the fancy type, your bitcoin fortune will come in handy.
That’s because Lamborghini Newport Beach out in California now accepts bitcoins on their collection of luxury/exotic vehicles, which started when a Florida man used the digital currency to buy a Tesla auto from the dealership for 54 bitcoins (worth more at the time than it is now, as you may have guessed).
Bitcoin luxury marketplace BitPremier also lists a number of impressive autos for grabs, of which include a 2007 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, a 2012 Fisker Karma Ecosport, and a 2014 Hennessey Venom GT going for $1.2 million (2,045 bitcoins).
For everything else, there’s still bitcoin
The fact of the matter is, if you’re rich (be it in bitcoin or fiat), you’ll probably get what you want and when you want it, so long as whoever you’re paying gets their money in their preferred currency.
You’ll find numerous examples of this on the web, none of which include the awesome miniature giraffe from the DirecTV commercial.
[ot-video type=”youtube” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkB9OT2XVvA”]
As mentioned, services like Coinbase and BitPay make this possible, and we’re just waiting to see what the next record-setting transaction in bitcoin involves.
[textmarker color=”C24000″]Image[/textmarker] M.O. Stevens