The AMC cinema chain will broaden its crypto horizons beyond Bitcoin, moving to accept three other types of digital tokens to purchase tickets online and concession payments later this year.
AMC CEO Adam Aron confirmed the decision in a tweet aimed at "cryptocurrency enthusiasts" on Wednesday evening, stating that Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash - a derivative of the leading cryptocurrency - would be accepted in addition to Bitcoin.
The AMC title (NASDAQ shares - ticker: AMC) fell 0,7% in US pre-market trading, largely in line with US stock market futures, which were lower.
Altcoin on the rise
The price of Ethereum rose more than 4,5% on Thursday to over $ 3.580, with Litecoin climbing 3,8% to $ 190. Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash appeared unmoved by the news, with the former rising slightly to almost $ 47.800 and the latter down 0,5% to less than $ 641.
Aron previously announced that AMC would begin accepting Bitcoin for payments by the end of 2021 during the company's latest quarterly earnings call, in August. It is only the latest company to fuel the broadest acceptance of cryptocurrencies.
Payment groups PayPal (PYPL) and Square (SQ) gave their users the ability to buy, sell, and store Bitcoin last year, as well as using cryptocurrency for transactions. PayPal allows users to do the same with Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.
And electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) was persuaded to accept Bitcoin for payments earlier this year, before CEO Elon Musk withdrew the decision over concerns about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining.
AMC title also discovers the Reddit effect!
AMC's move represents an incremental step towards wider acceptance of Bitcoin. For crypto bulls, this is a good, albeit small, step forward.
But it's also impossible to ignore the smell of memes. The AMC stock became a firm favorite among individual investors, many of them based on the community of Reddit's social media site WallStreetBets, earlier this year.
Enthusiastic, meme-fueled traders poured into the stocks, which had been heavily out of the way, pushing the price higher. AMC stock has risen more than 2.230% so far this year, from around $ 2 per share to nearly $ 47.
AMC's move to accept more digital tokens - which have a strong following of people with a similar and enthusiastic attitude at WallStreetBets - will likely be applauded by AMC's loyal retail investor who follows as much as the cryptocurrency crowd. Imagine if AMC accepted Dogecoin too!
