₿Live on Bitcoin
A field guide for bitcoiners

Price it in sats. Pay in sats.

You hold bitcoin and you don't want to touch dollars. This guide shows how to pay for stays, flights, food, phone plans and everyday shopping in bitcoin, which route each purchase takes, and what each spend means at tax time.

Find where to spend Book an Airbnb in sats
What it costs in sats
185,000sats

1 bitcoin = 100,000,000 sats. Enter today's BTC price from your wallet; the default is an example.

01 · The four routes

Every purchase takes one of four routes

Some merchants take bitcoin directly. Others never will, so you route around them. Each badge on this site tells you which route a purchase uses.

D

Direct

The merchant accepts bitcoin at its own checkout, on-chain or over Lightning.

Best route when it exists. On-chain fees and wait times make it better for larger bills.

L

Lightning

Scan a QR code at the counter and pay from a Lightning wallet. Settles in seconds for a fraction of a cent.

Ideal for coffee, meals and anything under a few hundred dollars.

G

Gift card

Buy a store's gift card with sats, then spend the card like cash at that store.

Opens up Amazon, Airbnb and thousands of brands. Buy only what you'll spend soon.

C

Bitcoin card

A debit card that sells your bitcoin at the moment you swipe. The store gets dollars.

Works anywhere cards work. Watch the conversion spread, and every swipe is a sale.

02 · Where to spend

Where your sats work today

A starting list of services that take bitcoin, grouped by what you're buying. Availability, fees and country coverage change often, so check each service before you pay.

Listings last reviewed November 2026. Inclusion is not an endorsement.

03 · Worked example

Booking an Airbnb with bitcoin

Airbnb doesn't accept bitcoin at checkout. The gift card route gets you there in about ten minutes.

GRoute: Gift card, paid over Lightning

  1. Get the full price

    Open the listing and go to the checkout screen so you see the total with cleaning and service fees, not just the nightly rate.

  2. Buy an Airbnb gift card with sats

    On a gift card service such as Bitrefill, pick an Airbnb card for your country in the amount of the total. Pay the Lightning invoice from your wallet.

  3. Add the code to your Airbnb account

    Redeem the gift card code in the payments section of your Airbnb account. The balance sits there as credit.

  4. Book the stay

    At checkout, the credit is applied before any card is charged. If the total is higher than your credit, buy a second card for the difference.

  5. Log the spend

    Write down the date, the dollar value and the sats spent. You'll need it at tax time. The spend log below does this for you.

04 · Taxes

Every spend is a sale

In the US, the IRS treats bitcoin as property. When you pay for something with sats, you've sold those sats for the value of what you bought. If your bitcoin went up in value since you bought it, that difference is a capital gain, even on a $6 coffee.

gain = value of purchase − (sats spent ÷ 100,000,000 × your cost per BTC)

Bitcoin you held for more than a year produces a long-term gain, taxed at lower rates. A year or less is short-term, taxed like regular income.

General information for US taxpayers, not tax advice. Proposals for a small-purchase exemption have been discussed in Congress; check current rules or ask a CPA before you file.

Spend calculator
Sats spent80,000
Cost basis$24.00
Gain or loss+$56.00Long-term

Example figures. Replace them with your own.

05 · Spend log

Your spend log

Keep a running record of what you paid for in sats and the gain or loss on each. It's saved in this browser only, so copy it out regularly for your records or your accountant.

Showing example entries. Add your first spend above to start your own log.
DateWhatUSD valueSatsBasisGain / lossTermRemove
Total

06 · Habits

Before you spend

  • Use Lightning for small purchasesOn-chain fees can cost more than a coffee. Keep a Lightning wallet topped up for daily spending.
  • Don't stockpile gift cardsBuy a card when you're ready to spend it. Unused balances can expire or get stuck if a service has problems.
  • Spend the coins with the highest cost basisSats you bought at a higher price produce a smaller gain. Ask your tax preparer how to track lots.
  • Keep a record of every spendDate, dollar value and sats spent. Your wallet history alone won't show what you bought.
  • Check a service's security before you payRead recent news on any gift card or travel site, and never leave large balances on it.
  • Earn it backApps that pay bitcoin back on purchases can offset some of what you spend.