In brief
- AMC CEO Adam Aron said the firm is looking into launching its own cryptocurrency.
- The movie theater chain accepts Dogecoin payments for gift cards, and will accept additional crypto payments by years end.
AMCs stock price has soared this year on the back of the meme stock phenomenon, along with an increased focus on what its vocal social media fans demandincluding accepting cryptocurrency payments. Now the movie theater chain may even be looking to roll out its own coin.
Adam Aron, CEO of AMC, told CNBC at todays Milken Conference that the theater chain is exploring ways to “issue” its own cryptocurrency.
“There are a lot of reasons why AMC could be a successful issuer of cryptocurrency as well as a redeemer of cryptocurrency,” Aron said. “That’s just one of half a dozen ideas that we’re working on right now.”
CNBCs footage doesnt show further elaboration from the AMC head, so its unclear whether Aron offered any extended information about the firms ideas. Decrypt has reached out to AMC representatives for additional detail and comment.
AMC announced earlier this month that it is now accepting Dogecoin payments online for gift cards using BitPay, which provides payment processing for numerous retailersincluding the merchandise shop for the Dallas Mavericks, owned by noted DOGE fan Mark Cuban.
Dogecoins price rose following the announcement, although the leading meme cryptocurrency has dropped slightly since then. As of now, Dogecoin sits at just over $0.24 per coin, up nearly 5% over the last seven days. Its still down 66% from the all-time high above $0.73 set in May, per data from CoinGecko.
The firm previously revealed plans to accept Bitcoin payments by the end of the year for movie tickets and online concessions, and then added Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash to that list. Following social media prodding from Dogecoin fans, Aron held a Twitter poll that showed overwhelming demand for DOGE payment support as well.
AMC stock price has maintained a good chunk of the momentum established this spring, at a current price just under $40 a shareup more than 1,880% since the start of 2021. Its down about a dollar per share on the day, however, as of this writing.
