A tea retailer based in China's Hunan province, Urban Tea, has introduced crypto payments to its stores and restaurants on two continents. Starting this week, customers will be able to purchase their drinks and meals using various cryptocurrencies.
Chinese tea shops and restaurants that accept Crypto
The publicly traded tea company operates a number of tea shops in China through its subsidiary, 39 Pu Tea Co Ltd. It also operates a restaurant chain in the United States under another entity, Guokui Management Inc. In a press release explained that both will accept cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE). Commenting on the announcement, CEO Xianlong Wu said:
"Through the implementation of cryptocurrency payments, Urban Tea plans to bring cryptocurrency application scenarios into customers' daily lives."
Headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, Urban Tea's core business is centered around the distribution and retail of specialty tea products. In Hunan, it offers a variety of tea and coffee drinks, light meals and an assortment of pastries made with natural products. The Nasdaq-listed company (Nasdaq shares - ticker MYT) has established its own research and development unit to develop seasonal menus and provide fresh meals.
Urban Tea expands into Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency mining
The Chinese company, however, does not limit its options and does not only offer healthy foods and drinks for diet-conscious consumers. Urban Tea has set out to explore new opportunities in the crypto space by initiating research on blockchain technology and mining of cryptocurrencies.
In February, the tea retailer hired Fengdan Zhou, a blockchain data specialist, as the company's new chief operating officer. He announced that Zhou will take responsibility for the implementation of his crypto business plan.
A new subsidiary based in the People's Republic of China will be tasked with designing blockchain-based software and applications, as well as developing the company's mining operations. "We expect our cryptocurrency mining plan to be gradually rolled out and hope for the promising prospect of this new opportunity for the company," Xianlong Wu pointed out.
Urban Tea, which is now entering the world of decentralized money, launched its specialized tea business in 2018. Its home country, China, is the world's largest tea producer with over 2,4 million tons. per year, according to data collected by UK tea and coffee supplier Farrer's. Tea is grown mainly in three Chinese provinces: Yunnan, Guangdong and Zhejiang, and the PRC accounts for around 40% of global production.
Do you know of any other specialty product chains that accept cryptocurrency payments? What do you think of Urban Tea's opening towards payments in DOGE? Let us know in the comments section below.
