“In bitcoin,” Austin Craig repeated to the young woman behind the
counter at the Lean Crust Pizza parlor in the Fort Greene neighborhood
of Brooklyn, N.Y. “Can we pay in bitcoin?”
“In what?” came the reply.
Mr. Craig, 30
years old, was struggling to convince Nadia Alamgir of the existence of
the virtual currency that has gained traction across the world, and
whose value—after months of wild swings—on Wednesday reached records
around $400 per bitcoin.
It was midway through a tricontinental
odyssey taken with his wife, Beccy Bingham-Craig, 29, and a film crew
documenting their travails, which started in Provo, Utah. Their mission:
to live on bitcoin alone.
“It’s been consistently inconvenient
and occasionally frustrating,” Mr. Craig said outside Lean Crust, “but
never impossible.” Lean Crust advertised itself as bitcoin-friendly but
hadn’t seen much virtual foot traffic. Ms. Alamgir eventually contacted
the store’s owner, who arrived and processed the transaction, allowing
Mr. Craig to munch on several slices.
Lean Crust, though, is one
of a tiny but growing number of stores, travel agents and online
merchants starting to accept the once-obscure digital currency as a
means of payment. Bitcoin doesn’t exist, except in the virtual world,
and can only be passed from one person to another electronically. Its
origins are murky: Conventional wisdom says a man or group of people
going by the name Satoshi Nakamoto created bitcoin in 2009, stoking
demand by making it obtainable only through complicated algorithmic
searches by powerful computers.
But in the past 12 months, the
bitcoin zeitgeist has taken on a life of its own. The currency is
discussed at investing conferences now. The Winklevoss twins, known for
their fight with Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg, have started a
bitcoin fund. It also has gained the attention of regulators who worry
it can be used to launder money.
For the Craigs, bitcoin represented a chance at adventure—and an underground movie career.
They
began their trek in October by driving east from Provo in Ms.
Bingham-Craig’s 2004 Volkswagen Jetta. After arriving in New York on
Oct 17, they flew to Stockholm, Berlin and Singapore before eventually
returning to Provo. In the end, they lasted 101 days, from July 23 to
Nov 1.
The Craigs weren’t part of the bitcoin underground when
they began the project. Mr. Craig said he first heard of the currency in
2011 and then came up with the plan to live and travel solely on
bitcoin.
“I’m really excited about bitcoin and its future,” Mr. Craig said. “It’s a reimagining of money.”
Starting
July 23, the day they returned from their honeymoon, the Craigs paid
for everything with bitcoin, from rent to food to gas. At that time, one
bitcoin was worth about $98, based on trading at the Tokyo-based Mt.
Gox exchange, a primary exchange bitcoin enthusiasts have tracked.
“In the end,” Mr. James said, “it hasn’t been as much of
an inconvenience as I thought it would be.” While he hasn’t become a
convert, he did say he thought the experiment sounded like fun and was
“happy to be a part of it.”
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