By
Temitope Olatunji
April 26th, 2024
With this development, the city joins the ranks of other places around the world that have taken a fiercely pro-crypto stance.
One thing that has become apparent is that cryptocurrency is not accepted in the same way all over the world. While some countries and regions have been eager to embrace crypto, others have been less interested. And those on both ends of the spectrum appear passionate about their stance. One of the positive examples we have of crypto adoption comes from Torrevieja, a tourist-heavy city in Spain’s Alicante province. The city has just announced plans for more blockchain and crypto integration moving forward.
Crypto Comes to Torrevieja
This latest development comes as a collaboration between the Department of Commerce, the Association of Small and Medium Merchants of Torrevieja (APYMECO), and its local government. The goal of this initiative is to modernize the businesses that operate in the region.
Given the fact that thousands of people live in the city and it sees heavy foot traffic of tourists, the need to cater to crypto users has become more apparent. So far, there are plans to introduce this initiative in several steps.
The first will involve setting up infrastructure to allow customers to pay for goods and services in the form of crypto. With the aforementioned tourist activities, this sort of initiative seems very promising. On top of it, there are plans to further promote crypto and blockchain education.
This will be done via courses at the University of Alicante that will educate local business owners about cryptocurrency and how to accept digital assets. This is very much needed as many businesses, especially those with less-than-tech-savvy owners, might need support in making the leap to accepting crypto.
It also coincides with the rise of crypto use around the world, in general. Cryptocurrencies spent many years being niche assets but now, thanks to developments within and outside the industry, more people know what they are and are willing to use them.
This was a sentiment shared by APYMECO President Jorge Almarcha, who said that while crypto has been legal to use in Spain since 2015, “it has not been until today that there has been a desire to democratize its use as a means of payment in standard, neighborhood, and traditional commerce.”
With this development, the city joins the ranks of other places around the world that have taken a fiercely pro-crypto stance. One of the most notable is El Salvador, which has gone as far as making Bitcoin legal tender.
If this initiative is successful, other cities in Spain might take a similar stance and this will drive adoption across the board. At the end of the day, the biggest benefits will be gotten by the customers who can spend their crypto and the businesses that can receive the tokens.