The Samsung chain of stores located in the Baltic region – which includes the European countries Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland – will begin the adoption of cryptocurrencies as a payment method for the purchase of their goods and services.
The giant of technology has yet to release a statement regarding the news. However, numerous crypto-news portals have made eco of the announcement, were a strategic partnership between Samsung and payment processor firm CopPay was established; the latter making this declaration, adding that from now on, people will be able to acquire the former’s products with 7 different cryptocurrencies, these being Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, NEM, Steem, Ripple and Litecoin.
“Customers in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and Kaunas can buy Samsung smartphones, tablets, laptops, TV-sets, and more with digital money,” they said in their post.
CopPay is a European Fintech that offers payment options to 31 commercial establishments and its mission is to speed up cryptocoins adoption in the old continent. Its platform works similarly to that of startup Bitpay, working as a middleman between the user and the store. It also offers the possibility to keep profits in cryptocurrencies or exchange them for fiat money.
This new payment method is a way to keep up to the current trend, especially in the Baltic States where the adoption of blockchain technology has proceeded with easiness – right now, people can pay with cryptocurrencies in coffee shops, apartments, bars, restaurants, hotels, stores and even spas.
“There is a growing trend toward business digitalization and allowing customers to pay for goods and services in cryptocurrency, whether at global retailers or local restaurants,” the post reads.
The aforementioned region stands out in the crypto world for having very few restrictions regarding virtual coins, and it is probable that their wide acceptance and subsequent adoption is due to said characteristic – even in Latvia, nation where local authorities are discussing the imposition of a 20 % tax on the profits of local cryptocurrency exchanges.
This is not the first time Samsung shows interest in digital currencies. Over the course of last year, the earnings of the company skyrocketed notably thanks to the manufacturing and sale of semiconductors for crypto-mining machines. Likewise, early this year, it began the phase of production of ASIC chips for the mining of Bitcoin.
It is expected that the South Korean giant keeps betting on this direction, taking into consideration that very few companies have really got involved in crypto hardware development. Besides, the growing interest of digital currencies around the world have made of the blockchain technology even more popular, with a seemingly endless possibilities of applications.
