CoinGate Gift Cards vs BitGift: Gifting Bitcoin or Spending It

Summary: BitGift sells Bitcoin as a present. You pay for a certificate and the recipient ends up holding Bitcoin, which is the opposite of buying a retailer gift card with crypto you already own. If you want to introduce someone to Bitcoin, that is the product. If you want to turn Bitcoin into something spendable at a shop, it is not.

• BitGift's output is Bitcoin. A gift card's output is credit at a named retailer.
• A Bitcoin gift fluctuates in value between giving and spending; a retailer gift card does not.
• BitGift is a small US operation, so check it is trading before planning a gift around it.
• For spending crypto rather than gifting it, a gift card catalogue that accepts coins does that job.

The phrase Bitcoin gift card describes two unrelated products, which is how these get compared. One gives someone Bitcoin. The other lets someone with Bitcoin buy something. Sorting out which you mean takes a sentence and saves a wasted purchase.

What BitGift Does

BitGift, operating from Dallas since 2018, sells Bitcoin gift certificates: you buy one, the recipient redeems it, and they hold Bitcoin at the end. The pitch is straightforward and reasonable, that a gift which might be worth more later is more interesting than another unused store card.

It is a small operation rather than a large platform, so treat it as you would any small merchant: confirm it is currently trading and that support is responsive before committing to a gift with a date attached to it.

A Gift That Moves in Value

This is the real difference and it is worth thinking about before buying either. Bitcoin given at one price may be worth noticeably more or less by the time the recipient does anything with it. For someone crypto-curious that volatility is part of the appeal. For a gift meant to buy a specific thing, it is a complication, and the recipient may have tax to think about depending on what they do with it later.

A retailer gift card is fixed. Fifty dollars buys fifty dollars of goods whenever it is redeemed, which is usually what people want when the gift is meant to be used rather than held.

Paying With Crypto Is a Separate Question

What you pay with and what the recipient receives are independent. CoinGate Gift Cards lets you buy a retailer gift card with your own crypto: over 70 cryptocurrencies accepted, over 6,000 brands, no crypto fee and the code delivered in about a minute. The recipient gets a regular card and never has to think about wallets.

That combination, paying in crypto and gifting something with a fixed value, is one of the things people mean when they search for a Bitcoin gift card. Giving actual Bitcoin is the other.

Pros and Cons of Each Option

BitGift

• Pro: Gives the recipient actual Bitcoin.
• Pro: A simple introduction to crypto for someone new to it.
• Pro: Value can grow if the Bitcoin price rises.
• Con: Value can also fall between giving and spending.
• Con: Small US operation, so worth confirming it is trading.
• Con: Recipient may need to think about wallets and tax.

CoinGate Gift Cards

• Pro: Recipient gets a fixed-value card at a shop they choose.
• Pro: Pay with over 70 cryptocurrencies, no crypto fee, or with card and wallets.
• Pro: Over 6,000 brands, delivered in about a minute.
• Con: Does not give the recipient Bitcoin itself.
• Con: Verification may be required on purchases above 700 euros.

Which Way the Gift Points

Decide what you want the recipient holding afterwards. If the point is to introduce them to Bitcoin, BitGift or a similar Bitcoin gifting service is built for that. If you want them to have a fixed amount at a shop they like, paid for from your crypto, a gift card does that, and the crypto only features on your side.

Both are valid gifts for different people. To pay in crypto and give something with a fixed value, browse the gift card catalogue.