Cinema-goers will soon be able to pay with bitcoin at AMC theaters in the United States. AMC entertainment chairman-CEO Adam Aron stated the chain will be technologically equipped to start accepting Bitcoin payments for U.S. movie tickets and concessions ordered online by the end of the year.
AMC’s CEO, Adam Aron noted that many of the company’s new retail investors are highly enthusiastic about cryptocurrency. AMC shot to fame when its share prices became a meme stock star favored by retail traders on Reddit’s infamous WallStreetBets forum earlier this year.
Adam Aron also noted the chain will also start accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay. Earlier, Companies that accepted bitcoin payments include PayPal and Starbucks through the Bakkt app, which converts cryptocurrency into payment. Also Tesla, which accepted bitcoin as payment earlier this year, which eventually halted.
“However, while there are no guarantees as to what the future will bring in a still infection-impacted world, one can look ahead and envision a happy Hollywood ending to this story.”
AMC CEO Adam Aron
In addition to the revenue revelation, AMC also announced plans to open more than a dozen new locations across America, Europe, and the Middle East this year.
Why AMC entertainment plans to accept bitcoin payments?
AMC entertainment stated, it sold 22 million tickets during the second-quarter, up from just 7 million in the first-quarter. But the company’s performance is still lagging behind 2019, when it sold 97 million tickets in the second-quarter. Company’s shares are up more than 1,500% year-to-date since it became a favorite on Reddit’s WallStreetBets, and the company has cashed in on the meme-stock frenzy by selling more shares.
“We are still losing money. We are still burning cash. We’re burning less of it, but we’re using cash, not generating cash. So we’re not out of the woods yet,”
Adam Aron
Aron said he has had to learn more about blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the past six months than in the last decade, giving him the confidence to announce AMC’s dive into the industry.
AMC entertainment is also exploring how it can participate in the crypto economy as the company is eager to explore new opportunities.
