About 620 stores in South Korea’s Goto Mall, the largest underground mall, will start accepting Bitcoin payments from mid-December after the mall partnered with local cryptocurrency exchange HTS Coin to facilitate payments.
A local publication called Kyeonggi reported that the mall tested with Bitcoin payments where shop owners accepted Bitcoin directly. However, this did not work well as shop owners kept losing passwords and so could not use the system. HTS Coin system will solve that problem. HTS Coin opened last month and has a smart payment system that employs cryptocurrencies. It also has a mobile app.
Also known as Gangnam Terminal Underground Shopping Center, this mall attracts about half a million people per day. It also serves many foreign customers because it is well connected to the subway station served by Seoul subway lines 3, 7, and 9. Also, 30 bus routes that have ordinary buses and airport buses pass on this route. The mall could attract more foreign customers in future because the area around it is undergoing renovations to increase customer base.
Also Read: South Korea’s Goto Mall adds Bitcoin payments to 620 stores
Goto Mall CEO Chung Gwi Yeon commented,
“I think it is very meaningful to be able to settle the Bitcoin used by foreigners and young people at Goto Mall”.
It has many outlets that offer various commodities at very low prices, from clothing to flowers and home decor.
The idea could go well given the strength of Bitcoin markets in the country.
South Korea is itself a leading Bitcoin market with high liquidity provided by Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit crypto exchanges.
A surge in prices is causing many people to buy the bitcoin and it was today reported already past $10,000 in the three exchanges. Previously, price fall for Bitcoin did not affect Korean markets as many traders rushed into crypto dealings. The demand further increased after this month’s announcement by Korean media. Thus JPMorgan would let customers trade Bitcoin futures to be launched by CME on December 11.
Price had gone down after an earlier announcement against Bitcoin by JPMorgan. And then soared again after an announcement of upcoming futures by CME, CBOE, Man Group, and other major financial institutions.