Slovenia’s largest shopping destination is implementing strategies to become a “genuine Bitcoin City.” Coincidentally named BTC City already, the complex stretches 475,000 square meters and is filled with 500 retail stores. It was recently visited by the country’s prime minister who got acquainted with its bitcoin strategy. During his visit, the state secretary bought him a cup of coffee using cryptocurrency.
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Prime Minister Visits BTC City
The Prime Minister of Slovenia, Miro Cerar, recently visited BTC City, a sprawling, 475,000 meter-squared commercial business and shopping complex in the capital city of Ljubljana.
Fintech startup Eligma has created a point-of-sale system which is being used in a number of retailers in BTC City, in an effort to convert it into a “Bitcoin City.” Describing the commercial complex as “a business and shopping ecosystem based on the latest technological solutions including blockchain, AI, and cryptocurrencies,” Eligma elaborated:
The purpose of his visit was to open the Beyond 4.0 international conference, dedicated to digital society and blockchain, as well as to get acquainted with BTC City’s strategy to become Bitcoin City.
During the morning meeting, Cerar received “a cup of ‘crypto coffee’ bought for him by Slovenian State Secretary Tadej Slapnik through the Elipay cryptocurrency transaction system,” the startup described.
The first successful use of the Elipay wallet at the city was to pay, using bitcoin, at the complex’s waterpark in April. Eligma added that the app would also be able to use bitcoin cash and Elipay’s own loyalty rewards token in the near future.
BTC City to Become a ‘Genuine Bitcoin City’
Founded in 1954 as a warehouse and logistics enterprise, BTC company added many warehouses in the northeast of Ljubljana over time. In 1990, the complex was repurposed as a commercial shopping area and adopted the name BTC City. Ever since it has added large commercial ventures including a hotel, a sports complex, a casino, a multiplex cinema, a water park, and the tallest building in Slovenia, the crystal palace office park. With over 500 retail shops, BTC City’s website describes itself as “famous for being the largest and most popular European business, shopping, recreational/leisure and cultural center” in the country.
With the latest initiative is to convert BTC City into “a genuine Bitcoin City,” the company claims that the new entity is:
The first of its kind in the world to provide its visitors, consumers and business partners with an ecosystem that will develop and integrate advanced technologies based on state-of-the-art approaches (blockchain, AI, VR [Virtual reality], AR [Augmented reality], ML [Machine Learning] and the world of cryptocurrencies).
BTC company believes that “Bitcoin City will create an open society which will enable users to pursue their missions as well as develop their business environments in line with their wishes, needs, and operating policies.”
According to the plan posted on BTC City’s website, Eligma’s Elipay is already installed in a number of stores within the city such as Atlantis water park, Al Capone, Babadu, Bijoux modni dodatki, Big Bang, istyle, Vodno mesto San Martino, Sneakers, Minicity, and Kibuba. There are also some one-way cryptocurrency ATMs on the premises, as well as a Blockchain Think Tank and the “biggest crypto mining rig in Slovenia.”
BTC company emphasized:
The development of BTC City into a Bitcoin City is an important step towards the realisation of BTC’s openness-oriented strategy, providing its customers and business partners with freedom and choice regarding their purchases with new forms of payment.
What do you think of BTC City turning into a Bitcoin City? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Total Slovenia News, Wikipedia, Eligma, and BTC company.
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