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“比特币。我们能用比特币付账吗？”

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"比特币。我们能用比特币付账吗？"在纽约布鲁克林格林堡(Fort Greene)社区的比萨店Lean Crust Pizza，奥斯汀·克雷格(Austin Craig)跟柜台后的姑娘又说了一遍。

 

"用什么？"姑娘回答。

 

图片：80比特币环游地球

30岁的克雷格很难让纳迪娅·阿拉姆吉尔(Nadia Alamgir)相信这种虚拟货币的存在。比特币已在全世界发力，经过几个月的剧烈波动之后，11月13日其价值已经达到一比特币兑400美元左右的创纪录水平。

 

此时克雷格正和他29岁的妻子贝奇·宾厄姆-克雷格(Beccy Bingham-Craig)一起环游世界三大洲，身后有一个记录片摄制组跟随拍摄。他们的旅程始于犹他州的普罗沃(Provo)，任务是仅靠比特币生存。

 

克雷格在Lean Crust Pizza门外说道："老是不方便，有时候还很恼火，但不存在绝不可行的情况。"Lean Crust Pizza将接受比特币当作自己的一个卖点，但之前使用虚拟货币的客流量不大。阿拉姆吉尔最后联系店老板，店老板前来处理了这笔交易，克雷格得以津津有味地吃了几块比萨。

 

不过，包括Lean Crust Pizza在内，一些商店、旅行社、网商正在开始接受一度名不见经传的比特币作为支付手段，这样的商家目前数量尚少但正日益增多。比特币只在虚拟世界中存在，也只能通过电子的方式从一个人转移到另一个人名下。它的来源说不清道不明：一般说法是一个名叫"中本聪"(Satoshi Nakamoto)的人或群体在2009年创造了比特币，并使它只能通过高性能计算机的复杂算法搜索来获取，以此提高它的需求。

 

视频：比特币之外的虚拟币

比特币价值连日疯涨，让虚拟货币行情看俏。其实比特币并不是互联网上唯一的加密电子货币。本视频介绍了莱特币(Litecoin)、Freicoin等其它几种受到高度关注的新型虚拟货币。

但在过去一年里，比特币已经形成了自己的生命力。现在的投资论坛都在谈它。因与Facebook Inc.创始人马克·扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)产生纠纷而闻名的文克莱沃斯(Winklevoss)双胞胎兄弟已经成立了一只比特币基金。监管层也已经注意到了这只基金，担心它可能被用于洗钱。

 

对于克雷格夫妇来讲，比特币给他们带来了一次冒险的机会，也带来了一个秘密拍摄电影的工作。

 

他们的旅程始于10月份。两人开着宾厄姆-克雷格的2004年款大众捷达车从普罗沃出发往东走，10月17日抵达纽约，然后飞往斯德哥尔摩、柏林和新加坡，最终回到普罗沃。最后算下来，这个项目他们一共坚持了101天，从7月23日开始，到11月1日结束。

 

启动这个项目的时候，克雷格夫妇还不属于比特币这个地下网络的一分子。克雷格说，他在2011年第一次听说比特币，然后想出了这个单纯依靠这种货币生活、旅行的计划。

 

克雷格说："我对比特币及其未来感到非常振奋。它是对货币的重新想象。"

 

时间轴：比特币进化史

7月23日，两人度完蜜月归来。从那一天开始，不管是房租、饭钱还是油钱，他们的所有东西都用比特币付账。比特币爱好者一直关注的东京交易所Mt. Gox的行情显示，当时一个比特币价值98美元左右，

 

旅行期间，他们不仅要向很多人介绍这种刚刚诞生没多久的货币，还得说服他们使用。经过数周的劝说，他们的房东贾斯汀·詹姆斯(Justin James)同意了他们的方案（附带租金小幅加价的优惠条件），并建立了自己的比特币账户。

 

詹姆斯说："到最后，它并没有像我原先想象的那样不方便。"

 

寻遍整个普罗沃之后，他们找到了一家接受比特币的食杂店——洛洛生鲜食品货栈(LoLo's Fresh Food Warehouse)，又找到了一家接受比特币的汽车保险公司。克雷格说，最难照常做到的事情是给车子加油。最开始的时候，他们的车几乎就没有开过。

 

克雷格说，这次实验的头两个星期，"我们没地方加油"。

 

比特币爱好者杰瑞米·佛比什(Jeremy Furbish)救了他们。他们只知道他叫"佛比"，在盐湖城郊外一家Phillips 66加油站上夜班。他听说了他们的故事，然后联系到了他们。宾厄姆-克雷格说："周五晚上10点开车一小时过去加油，成了我们日常生活的一部分。"

 

Ying Yi Chua for The Wall Street Journal

奥斯汀·克雷格和贝奇·宾厄姆-克雷格在新加坡做汉娜纹身，用比特币付账。

克雷格的雇主同意用比特币给他发工资。夫妻二人在德国找到受理比特币的旅行社，并通过它们安排了环游世界的酒店和机票。他们开着宾厄姆-克雷格的车，跟在后面的摄制组则开着一辆利用比特币从犹他州奥勒姆(Orem) Five Star Auto Direct租来的车。这家公司也是该记录片的赞助商之一。一行人从普罗沃开车到丹佛、堪萨斯城、匹兹堡，然后到了纽约。

 

宾厄姆-克雷格的车上装着食品和其他一些物资，包括四个容积为五加仑（约19升）的油箱。油箱上面盖了一张遮挡汽油味的防水布，带这些油箱的目的是为了应对找不到加油站的情形。

 

克雷格说："我们不想到最后潦倒不堪，挨饿受穷。"

 

在德国旅行社SimplyTravelOnline.com和房屋租赁网站9flats.com的帮助下，他们预订了机票和酒店。

 

在纽约，他们吃了比萨。在斯德哥尔摩，第一个晚上他们只能饿着肚子。在新加坡，宾厄姆-克雷格做了一次汉娜纹身。克雷格说，每一站他们都至少找到了一家接受比特币的商家愿意帮忙。

 

克雷格说："我们不知道长时间这样下去会把我们折磨成什么样子。完全普普通通的东西，也变成了极大的挑战。"

 

到最后，在朋友、家人以及比特币圈子本身的怀疑声中，克雷格夫妇依靠比特币支撑了三个多月。克雷格说："我们真的没有作弊。人人都以为我们会作弊。"

 

至于比萨店的阿拉姆吉尔，如今她已经皈依比特教的门下。

 

她在11月19日说道："我现在是比特币的粉丝了。"阿拉姆吉尔还说，她自己也在考虑买一些比特币。

'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 consistentlyinconvenient 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.

During the trip, they had to not only introduce a number of people to the fledging currency but to persuade them to use it. After a few weeks of prodding, their landlord, Justin James, agreed to the plan -- with the sweetener of a small premium over the rent -- and set up his own bitcoin account.

'In the end,' Mr. James said, 'it hasn't been as much of an inconvenience as I thought it would be.'

After scouring Provo, they found one grocery store, LoLo's Fresh Food Warehouse, that would accept the currency. They found one auto insurance company that would take bitcoin. The single hardest thing to get regularly, Mr. Craig said, was finding gasoline. Early on, they hardly drove their car.

'For the first two weeks' of the experiment, Mr. Craig said, 'we had no place to fill up.'

They were saved by Jeremy Furbish, a bitcoin enthusiast they knew only as 'Furb,' who works the night shift at a Phillips 66 station outside Salt Lake City. He heard about their story and contacted them. 'Driving an hour out there on a Friday night at 10 became part of our routine,' Ms. Bingham-Craig said.

Mr. Craig's employer agreed to pay him in bitcoin. The couple found travel agencies in Germany that accepted bitcoin and, through them, arranged their hotels and flights for the world tour. They drove Ms. Bingham-Craig's car, with the film crew following in a car rented with bitcoin from Five Star Auto Direct in Orem, Utah, which also helped sponsor the film. They drove from Provo to Denver, Kansas City, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York.

The car was stocked with food and other supplies -- like four five-gallon gas tanks, which were covered under a tarp to fight the fumes and were carried in case the couple couldn't find a gas station.

'We didn't want to end up starving and destitute in a ditch,' Mr. Craig said.

With help from SimplyTravelOnline.com, a German travel agency, and 9flats.com, an online rentals marketplace, they booked flights and hotels.

In New York, they ate pizza. In Stockholm, they went hungry the first night. In Singapore, Ms. Binghman-Craig got a henna tattoo. At every stop, Mr. Craig said, they found at least one bitcoiner willing to help.

'We didn't know how much the duration of it would wear us down,' Mr. Craig said. 'Totally average things became monumental challenges.'

In the end, despite skepticism from friends, family and the bitcoin community itself, the Craigs managed to live on bitcoin for over three months. 'We really didn't cheat,' Mr. Craig said. 'Everybody thought we would.'

And as for Ms. Almagir of the pizza joint, she has become a convert.

'I'm a fan of bitcoin now,' she said Tuesday, adding she was considering buying some herself.



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