By
Bhushan Akolkar
January 4th, 2020
Traveling with crypto is becoming a reality with the establishment of the world’s first Bitcoin City entertainment centre in Slovenia.
The cryptocurrency boom, which has started about a decade ago and continues to gain momentum without a slightliest possibility to stop, is related not only to those innovative technologies revolutionizing numerous areas of people’s living. It has also brought about the appearance of new communities and philosophies of life, which are already a part of our existence.
Many crypto community members are looking forward to bringing the phenomenon of blockchain technology to almost all existent areas of life, including traveling. Currently, it is rather uncomfortable to travel with digital wallet instead of conventional one, as the majority of traditional shops don’t accept cryptocurrency. But this is about to change very soon.
Among the good examples of countries, which can boast a significant number of startups and companies specializing in the latest technologies including blockchain, is Slovenia. The country has even recently been titled ‘the Silicon Valley of Europe’. The technologies here went so far that it in Ljubljana, Slovenian capital city, people don’t see anything unusual in spending a day at crypto mall – Bitcoin City offers such an opportunity.
Bitcoin City represents itself the very first entertainment ecosystem based on the newest technologies. It is a result of fruitful collaboration between BTC City, one of the biggest Central European shopping, business and logistic centers, and Eligma, a startup specializing in smart commerce solutions.
The BTC City area has a reach of more than 21 million visitors a year, who come here to use the services offered by over 4,000 businesses with 10,000 different brands. The numbers are quite impressive: 70 bars and restaurants, 450 stores and attractions, such as a waterpark, a cinematic complex, a theatre and a concert hall, – all these places of entertainment can be found here in one place.
In comparison to traditional entertainment areas, Bitcoin City leverages blockchain technology to provide the highest level of security. The visitors of the entertainment area can enjoy a wide range of payment options available here, including digital money. The Eligma team has developed its very own payment system Elipay, which allows for paying in cryptocurrencies via an easy-to-use mobile app.
According to Elipay statistics, the ‘crypto cunsumer culture’ is gaining popularity and is not quite similar to the traditional one. As the analysis has shown, most frequent purchases include restaurant meals, sports and recreation activities, as well as technical goods.
The Elipay payment system consists of a mobile app for users and a POS solution for merchants. The app is already available for download from both Google Play and App Store. It currently supports payments in bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ether, with some ERC-20 tokens to be added in the future.
In order to conduct a payment transaction, a user only needs to scan the QR-code of the purchase at the cashier’s desk and to confirm the transaction in the app. After that, the indicated sum will be immediately written-off from the user’s digital wallet. Merchants will receive all payments in fiat. No special crypto knowledge or even additional hardware is neccessary for them to engage into the process.
According to Eligma CEO Dejan Roljic, an internationally renowned startup entrepreneur:
“The Eligma company is convinced that the advantages of the latest technologies including blockchain should become part of mainstream commerce, making it more efficient and user-friendly. Elipay caters to the new niche of crypto shoppers, growing as we speak. Merchants and service providers are increasingly aware of this market opportunity: the number of stores accepting Elipay is getting bigger on a daily basis. Convenient crypto shopping, however, is not our only goal. We aim to make Elipay into a comprehensive solution integrating cards and loyalty programs into one mobile app to benefit all consumers.”
Within the Elipay app, it will soon be possible to add credit, debit and loyalty cards in order to keep all means of payment in one place. The app will also reward its users with Elipay native tokens ELI aiming to attract more customers.
