AMC Theatres customers this month will be able to pay with popular meme coins Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) using blockchain payments processor BitPay.
AMC CEO Adam Aron took to Twitter to confirm the news, saying “BitPay will be live for AMC online payments on our website by March 19, and live on our mobile apps by April 16. Possibly a few days earlier.”
AMC initially revealed its cryptocurrency plans during an investor call in early August last year as part of its broader goal to revamp its digital payment systems.
The movie theatre chain began accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash for online payments in November and promised to later add Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. This was after legions of fans of the two most popular meme coins protested on Twitter regarding their omissions. CEO Aron then conducted two separate polls to determine whether customers would be willing to purchase online movie tickets and theater concessions using DOGE or its rival SHIB.
AMC, the largest theater chain worldwide, has over 10,000 screens and more than 1,100 venues. Alongside other companies like video game retailer Gamestop, AMC gained traction among retail investors in 2021 during a “meme stock” frenzy.
The Latest AMC announcement comes amid a surge in prices across the crypto market. As of this writing, Dogecoin is up 9.52% over the last 24 hours at a current price of $0.1354. Meanwhile, SHIB has risen 14,87% on the day to a current price of $0.0000272.
Memecoins Mainstream Adoption Is Growing Rapidly
Who doesn’t love a good meme? Predictably, top meme coins DOGE and SHIB have captured the attention of the market.
The decision by AMC has been hailed as a big step for crypto adoption. Dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus, for instance, observed that it will be fun to pay with DOGE at the AMC Theatres.
Aside from accepting crypto payments and offering non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to its shareholders, the Kansas-based company has also weighed the creation of its own cryptocurrency.
In accepting DOGE and SHIB as a mode of payment, AMC joins a long list of noteworthy companies that have done so in recent months, including Newegg, Dallas Mavericks store, and Travala. Recent reports suggest eBay could be the next company to onboard Dogecoin.
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