Bitcoin Payment For Movies? AMC To Accept BTC By End Of Year

AMC Entertainment on Monday announced it will start accepting Bitcoin as payment for movie tickets and concessions by the end of the year.

During an earnings call, AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron said the company will have IT systems in place to begin accepting cryptocurrency by the end of 2021. The payment option will be available for purchases made online at all of its U.S. theaters.

The move comes after Bitcoin prices changed drastically in recent weeks. In July, Bitcoin prices fell below $30,000 before trading around $46,050 on Monday.

The recent rebound came after Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., brought an amendment that would limit a proposal to increase federal regulation of cryptocurrency as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Under the amendment, transactions over $10,000 would need to be reported to the IRS.

However, the Senate failed to advance the amendment after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., blocked it, as reported by Forbes.

AMC’s shares climbed by more than 4% in extended trading Monday. The company also posted a narrower-than-expected second-quarter loss, but Aron noted that they are not yet out of the woods.

“While there are no guarantees as to what the future will bring in a still infection-impacted world, one can look ahead and envision a happy Hollywood ending to this story,” he said in a statement, according to CNBC.

The company reported a net loss of $344 million from a loss of $561.2 million in the second quarter of 2020. This meant it only lost 71 cents per share, lower than the expected loss of 91 cents per share. It also reported revenue of $444.7 million. Wall Street analysts expected the company to only earn $382.1 million.

The struggling movie theater chain was forced to closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic for many months in 2020. As of June this year, at least 95% of the company’s theaters are operational, but the crowds are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“We are not taking a victory lap ... We are still losing money; we are still burning cash,” Aron said, adding: “But we can see a light at the end of the tunnel.”