What is the 21-day bitcoin challenge?
Chinese tech enthusiast trying to survive using only the digital currency

A bitcoin enthusiast is attempting to live on 0.21 bitcoin (about £1,000) without using any other currency in a 21-day challenge being tracked in a new documentary series.
Airing on iQiyi, one of China’s Netflix equivalents, the show follows He You Bing as she attempts to pay her way using just a smartphone containing a fifth of the digital coin.
Her goal has been to find and fund her accommodation, food and other basic necessities using cryptocurrency transactions through her mobile, while travelling around Beijing and the southern city of Shenzhen, says cryptocurrency news site NewsBTC.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The challenge is particularly tough in China, where authorities recently banned commercial venues from hosting events promoting bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Unsurprisingly, You Bing has encountered a number of setbacks during her journey so far.
On the first day of the challenge, You Bing was unable to find a food vendor that accepted bitcoin. Instead, she was forced to survive on “four packets of ketchup” and food samples from a supermarket, before sleeping in a 24-hour McDonald’s, says crypto news site Chepicap.
On the third day, she ended up in hospital, after becoming “very weak from not eating properly”, the site continues.
However, You Bing had already gained a sizeable following through social media, many of whom then offered her food in exchange for the cryptocurrency.
Now, with three days of the challenge left to complete, You Bing has built up a list of hotels, restaurants and public transport ticket providers that accept bitcoin transactions.
Fans say the documentary shows that it is possible to live on digital coins alone, but as TechCrunch notes, there is still a long way to go before bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency, becomes suitable for “broader consumption”.
And that could prove tricky, with growing presence of “scam coins” in the cryptocurrency market having soured the technology’s reputation in recent years, the tech site says.
Bitcoin’s fluctuating value will also put off many vendors - along with other fans considering attempting You Bing’s 21-day challenge.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
What Trump's win could mean for Big Tech
Talking Points The tech industry is bracing itself for Trump's second administration
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Network states: the tech bros who want to create new countries
Under The Radar Concept would allow you to 'choose your nationality like you choose your broadband provider'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrency
Under The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
2023: the year of crypto instability
The Explainer Crypto reached peaks — and valleys — throughout 2023
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty: where does crypto go from here?
Today's Big Question Conviction of the 'tousle-haired mogul' confirms sector's 'Wild West' and 'rogue' image, say experts
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
iPod creator launches new crypto wallet as industry fallout continues
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Is cryptocurrency still a good investment?
opinion The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web
By Justin Klawans Published