One of Europe’s largest retail, sports and entertainment complexes with over 4,000 shops and businesses is the new pilot site of a ‘Bitcoin City’ experiment. The idea is to integrate Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a main payment option across the venue.
The project is powered by Eligma, an AI-driven and blockchain-based cognitive commerce platform. The Slovenian-based artificial intelligence company has been testing its blockchain payment solution EliPay at the venue since mid-April.
Located in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the commerce complex, which houses a waterpark, cineplex, hotels and a casino, is home to more than 10,000 brands and over 70 bars and restaurants, making it an exceptional hub for mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.
As part of the rollout, retailers will be equipped with Eligma’s cryptocurrency transaction systems and consumers will be able to use a mobile app, available on iOS with a subsequent release on Android. The company will also implement a unified loyalty program and aims to create a central warehouse for all goods sold.
The EliPay app will power in-store purchases for shoppers who want to pay with crypto. Merchants will be able to store the payments in cryptocurrency or use EliPay’s exchange feature. The app will initially support Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash before expanding to additional cryptocurrencies.
The newly dubbed ‘Bitcoin City’ complex traces back to 1954. Through a series of rebrandings, it was named, ironically, BTC City (Blagovno Transportni Center) in 1975.
