Living On Bitcoin For A Week: Day 6: Can’t Pay The Rent - Day 6

Day 6: It’s Sunday morning. I have only two days left of living on Bitcoin. I can see the US-minted light at the end of the tunnel, but the end of my week is going to be an adventure. My landlord didn’t want to take Bitcoin for rent. Understandably. I think she’d be similarly put off if I offered to pay the rent in Starbucks gift cards or in the form of a week’s supply of succulents (which are all the planting rage in San Francisco). She’s willing to accept the rent late when I’m back to using greenbacks after the week is up, but that’s a time-traveling violation of my rule for this experiment: all transactions must happen in Bitcoin.

It is May 5, the deadline for my rent payment. I have to move out.

I polish off my bottle of Stumptown cold-brewed coffee and add cold water to an ‘Espresso Maca’-flavored oat-concoction that I bought from the BTC-accepting artisanal grocer. Bitcoin’s value is holding steady in the $115 USD zone. I check my Coinbase account. During the course of this story, I’ve been receiving tips from enthusiastic Bitcoiners, or cyphervegans, who are excited to see their beloved cryptocoin get attention and who want to see my experiment succeed to prove the viability of the digital money in the real world. The more than 90 “tips” I’ve gotten now add up to more than 10 BTC, which is some serious coin in all manner of currencies. Part of the security of Bitcoin is its radical transparency. Despite its reputation for privacy, Bitcoin is a heavily surveilled coinage. The whole network sees every transaction occur. You can get a taste of how this works by looking at the transaction history of the address at which I’ve been receiving my tips. - Read more here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/05/06/living-on-bitcoin-for-a-week-cant-pay-the-rent/