Earn Bitcoin By Shopping At Amazon
By: Raymond Durk
Tags: Stack Sats, Crypotcurrency, Bitcoin, Lightning Network

I recently wrote a Beginners Guide To Cryptocurrency that gave everyone a range of options to get started in the space. It included ways to earn free cryptocurrency by learning about cryptocurrency projects to buying a plug and play miner. The most popular option was to earn Bitcoin by shopping online at over 900 stores through Lolli. While it is a great service, one big retailer was absent from that list: Amazon. Luckily about a month after publishing that, two new services have been announced to fix that: Sparkswap and Fold.

First, you’ll need to download a new service called Sparkswap. It allows you to buy Bitcoin directly from your bank account but put it directly on the Lightning Network. The Lightning Network is a second layer scaling solution for Bitcoin that makes transactions faster and cheaper.

Sparkswap Desktop

While that is downloading, you’ll need to download an LND client of choice. LND is the Lightning Network software that will create the wallet Sparkswap will use to send your Bitcoin. I would recommend Zap which works on desktop, iOS, and Android (beta) as there are currently some issues with using the Lightning Labs implementation at the moment.

Zap Desktop

Once your Lightning wallet is downloaded you’ll need to create a wallet by getting a seed. Your seed is a list of 24 words. This allows you to restore your wallet if you want to install it on another app and acts as a backup. Write it down on a piece of paper, in order, and keep it in a secure location. There is no recovery option if you lose your seed nor a way to reset your password if you forget it. If your words are out of order, you will lose your Bitcoin. For more information on best security practices, read my overview here.

For current Bitcoiners: If you already use Bitcoin and have a seed, you may need to create a new one as Lightning uses a different seed format called Aezeed as opposed to the BIP39 ones you may be use to already.

Once you are logged into your Lightning app, open up Swarkswap. It should automatically connect but if not, click “LND is unreachable” in the upper right hand corner and scan for your LND client. Again, you must be signed in to your Lightning app. Click on “Deposit” which will bring up a window to connect your bank through AnchorUSD. Search for your bank and sign in to your bank using your normal email and password.

Sparkswap has direct integration with all major banks.

Once you have signed in and linked your checking or savings account, you’ll need to make your first deposit. Click the deposit button and an amount of Bitcoin you would like to buy. I recommend starting small and adding a dollar or two to cover any volatility in the price of Bitcoin. So if you are going to deposit $20, deposit $21 or $22.

As soon as you are done, you’ll see an updated balance in a dollar amount which means you are ready to buy your first Bitcoin. On the right hand side, type an amount of Bitcoin you would like to buy in USD or in BTC. As soon as you confirm your buy, you’ll see a trade complete notification.

Now that you made your first purchase, email referrals@sparkswap.com with promo code 6W6S4 in the subject line within 24 hours to get 100,000 sats for free.

If you go into your Lightning app, you’ll see that you received a payment. If not, click on the fresh button to the right of show all. Next, you’ll need to create an account with Fold. Use that link and you’ll get 20,000 sats for signing up. Sats is short for Satoshi which is the smallest unit of account in Bitcoin. If you bought $21 worth of Bitcoin, you’ll see a received payment for 210,000 sats. When you sign up, be sure to enroll in Fold Kickbacks for up to 20% of your purchase back in Bitcoin.

Once you signed up, click on “Buy Cards” on the upper left hand corner. You’ll see gift cards for major brands such as Amazon, Starbucks, Target, and more. Click on the brand you would like to buy a card with, select an amount, and click “Use Lightning.” You can pay with a traditional Bitcoin payment but it takes longer and is more expensive.

About to buy a $20 Target gift card with Fold

Next, you’ll see a Lightning invoice. Copy that invoice, open your Lightning app, click pay, and paste your Lightning invoice. As soon as you send the Lightning payment, open Fold, and you’ll see a new gift card appear in the My Cards tab. Click on that card and you’ll see the card number and any associated PIN. You’ll also see your sign up bonus and your sats back balance in the upper right. All you have to do is click on the coins icon.

$20 Starbucks Gift card

That is it! If you would like to continue earning Bitcoin while you shop, I recommend trying Lolli as mentioned earlier. If you use that link, you’ll get $10 in Bitcoin after your first purchase at more than 900 stores. I also recommend reading my Cryptocurrency For Beginners guide for other ways to get started and earning cryptocurrency.

As always if you have any feedback or suggestions, my DMs are open and remember to “Stay humble, stack sats.”