Alex Adelman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Bitcoin (BTC) shopping app Lolli, says the platform now has more than 950 merchants.
In an interview with CNN’s First Move, Adelman explains how Lolli introduces consumers to cryptocurrency through a reward system that gives cash back in the form of Bitcoin.
Adelman tells anchor Julia Chatterley that many people first experience Bitcoin through Lolli.
“What we’re trying to do is create the easiest way for people to get into Bitcoin, and we have done so through a cash back model. We partner with merchants and then those merchants pay us when our users shop their site. Then we send people free Bitcoin through their Lolli wallets.”
Adelman says hundreds of merchants, including some of the world’s most recognized brands, now partner with Lolli because the platform also introduces businesses to cryptocurrency.
“Everyone from Priceline to Glossier to Expedia. We have over 950 merchants. We almost have a thousand, and these merchants are coming on board because it is the easiest way for the merchants to get into Bitcoin as well.
It is not just the consumers that we have created an easy on ramp. We are getting mass merchant adoption, and I think some of the biggest merchants in the world have already joined us today.”
As to how Lolli users can utilize the cryptocurrency they earn from the cashback system, Adelman says many are holding on to their Bitcoin.
“A lot of our users treat it as an investment. I think the data right now is that over 90% of our users just hold it as an investment. Very few actually exchange it out, and I think that’s a sign that people are treating it as an investment account. They are treating it as a savings technology, which is, I think, Bitcoin’s biggest feature right now.”
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