Bitcoin phone home: Use crypto to buy sim cards in 140 countries with Bitrefill

A partnership between crypto e-commerce platform Bitrefill and eSIM Go enables crypto users to buy eSIMs in 140 countries worldwide.

Crypto advocates can now swap crypto for data at the checkout, using Bitcoin (BTC), the Bitcoin Lightning Network, Ether(ETH) and stablecoins like Tether (USDT). The move makes it easier to live on crypto and travel the world.

Bitrefill founder and CEO Sergej Kotliar shed light on the new development via email:

“Everyone who uses data on their phone is a potential customer […]. Right now, we’re directing it at travelers — many crypto users [who] travel the world either live as digital nomads or travel for conferences and such.”

Kotliar added in the press release that the process for buying eSims with crypto is straightforward:

“You can just get an e-SIM from the airplane wifi, install it in a minute, and be online from the moment your plane touches down on the tarmac, without worrying about getting a massive surprise bill from your telco.”

Founded in 2014, Bitrefill enables crypto users and advocates to live on Bitcoin by purchasing gift cards. The latest integration targets travelers and holidaymakers seeking to avoid touching fiat money payment rails.

Living on Bitcoin, even in the most Bitcoin-friendly destinations, such as El Salvador, can still be challenging. For example, Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall failed to live solely on Bitcoin while investigating Bitcoin adoption in the country.

One of the pitfalls was trying to buy phone credit. Hall required the help of a Salvadoran local to load up his phone with mobile data.

Now, with the Bitrefill integration, Bitcoin advocates making the pilgrimage to El Salvador can buy data with Bitcoin the moment they connect to WiFi at San Salvador airport.

Related: Singapore Red Cross starts accepting crypto donations

Competitor Silent.Link offers an anonymous eSim for travelers interested in paying in Bitcoin or Monero (XMR), while telecommunications provider MoreMins also accepts payments in crypto for its data services.

Magazine: Peter McCormack’s Real Bedford Football Club puts Bitcoin on the map