In a bit of good news for Bitcoin it turns out that at this very moment fans are flocking to online websites to book their seats in Russia for the biggest sporting event of the year and guess what, they are paying in BTC!
Yes, it's true. Oh yes, it's true. Kaliningrad, one of the cities hosting the matches, is now offering cryptocurrency payments for hotel rooms.
Buying Business Travel Russia has recently reported that Apartments Malina has teamed up with the online payment system, Free-Kassa. The combination will allow users to purchase rooms with cryptocurrencies.
When asked about this new development, Apartments Malina’s manager, Anna Subbotina said:
“Crypto-currencies are now enjoying increased interest. Gradually they will come into use as a means of payment. And we decided that the fans should be able to pay for our services with the help of this innovative technology. It may very well be that other hotels [are] awaiting our example for the forthcoming football holiday.”
Well isn't that nice for all the cryptocurrency millionaires eh? Russia isn't forgetting to roll out the red carpet for them!
Eleven of Russia’s cities will host the FIFA World Cup including Ekaterinburg, Moscow, Kazan, Saint Petersburg, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk and Kaliningrad.
It turns out as a result of this news other companies in the hospitality industry are quite interested in following suit. According to Free-Kassa’s development director, Vitaly Lavrov, this has been an “interesting experience”. “We did not have to cooperate with hotels and hotels in such a format. But the hospitality industry is very sensitive to such trends,” said Lavrov.
This means that Free-Kassa’s current collaboration with Petersburg Social Commercial Bank (PSCB) provides a chance in influencing Saint Petersburg to adopt cryptocurrency payments as well.
Russia has been a lot more friendly to the cryptospace as of late currently drafting regulations for cryptocurrencies and ICOs in the new proposal “On Digital Financial Assets” last month.
Progess is certainly being made as the Ministry of Finance, recently submitted a bill last week which lists cryptocurrencies as “financial assets” instead of a legal payment method.
What do you guys think about all this FIFA World Cup business? Do you think the tides are changing for Bitcoin? Would you be more willing to attend and pay in crypto now that you know it is an option?
Please leave your thoughts below!
Source:
To Russia with Bitcoin: Hotels Will Accept Cryptocurrency During the World Cup - CCN
Image Source:
CCN