Virtual coins can buy real pizza

Looking to capitalize on hungry computer users that collect Bitcoins, a new online startup called PizzaforCoins launched a simple site that allows consumers to order pizza and pay with the digital Bitcoin currency.

Created by Matt Burkinshaw and Riley Alexander, customers go through a standard selection menu to choose options like type of crust, amount of sauce or cheese, different toppings and other add-ons like drinks or sides. Rather than a dollar figure, each item has a specific Bitcoin value.

At the end of the transaction, the customer provides their current address and submits the total payment to a Bitcoin address supplied by the site. After the payment has been verified, the order is placed though the Domino’s site and sent to the physical address supplied with the order.

For example, a typical medium pizza with two toppings costs 0.56 BTC. That’s approximately $14 based off the current exchange rate. In addition, a 0.09 BTC fee ($2) is added to the total cost as an order fee. While the total cost is higher than what someone would pay when using U.S. currency, the ability to utilize the virtual currency could definitely be convenient for some people.

According to the details on the site, a customer can typically expect their order within 35 to 80 minutes of ordering. However, it’s unlikely that the customer would be able to actually track the order through Domino’s online order tool. In addition, it’s highly possible that Domino’s management will disapprove of the middle-man relationship PizzaforCoins is creating between the customer and the pizza company.

In the future, Burkinshaw and Alexander plan to add online ordering capabilities for Papa Johns as well as Pizza Hut. Their goal is to continue driving down the price when ordering with Bitcoins, but also plan to accept tips for their work. This isn’t the first Bitcoin related venture between the two men. Prior to the creation of PizzaforCoins, the duo developed a site that sells gift cards in exchange for Bitcoins.