The next time you want to watch a movie on the big screen, you might be able to pay for your ticket with Bitcoin. AMC Theaters plans on letting customers pay for movie tickets and concessions with the cryptocurrency by the end of 2021.
AMC to Accept Bitcoin Payments Online
In an earnings call with investors, AMC CEO Adam Aron stated that AMC will “have the information technology systems in place” to start accepting Bitcoin payments for tickets, popcorn, and drinks before 2021 comes to a close.
While this is exciting news for Bitcoin holders, it does come with a caveat: AMC will only accept cryptocurrency payments online. That might mean if you’ve bought a medium popcorn online, but decide you want a large when you get to the theater, you may be unable to change your order.
But at this point, it’s still unclear how exactly the payments will work, or if you’ll be able to modify your purchases at the theater. We do know, however, that paying with Bitcoin comes with transaction fees that you might not want to add to a pricey bag of popcorn.
At this time of writing, Bitcoin’s average transaction fee is $2.53, which means you’ll have to tack that on to your total. Bitcoin’s transaction fee is constantly fluctuating, and spiked to nearly $63 in April 2021.
In other words, you might want to fork out cash or credit on days when Bitcoin’s transaction fee is exorbitantly high. Aron also added that AMC will start accepting Google Pay and Apple Pay, so that’s always an option as well.
AMC’s decision to accept Bitcoin was definitely made with investors in mind. Reddit’s meme stock surge made AMC one of the most talked-about stocks on the market, and also attracted a slew of young investors who also dabble in cryptocurrency.
Will You Pay for Your Popcorn With Bitcoin?
AMC isn’t the first large corporation to weigh the idea of accepting Bitcoin as payment. Elon Musk announced that Tesla would accept bitcoin in March 2021, but quickly walked back on his decision due to Bitcoin’s negative impact on the environment.
While it seems that more companies are starting to open their doors to Bitcoin, can we ever expect the cryptocurrency to go mainstream? Bitcoin’s price is extremely volatile, which might steer corporations away. That said, it’ll be interesting to see how AMC’s Bitcoin plan plays out, and if all goes well, perhaps other companies will follow suit.
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