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The tobacconists in Paris are offering their customers the opportunity to collect some cryptocurrency together with their cigarettes, lottery tickets and newspapers, as part of an initiative to sweep the sector in France in 2019.
This week, six so-called "Tabac" stores in Paris have implemented terminals as part of a pilot project run by Keplerk, the cryptographic startup, which will allow customers to buy reimbursement vouchers for Bitcoin Core (BTC), Reuters reported.
If successful, Keplerk hopes to involve up to 6,500 stores across the country, which would allow for the first time direct access to cryptocurrency to millions of customers in France.
The agreement is the product of an agreement between Keplerk and the company responsible for providing cash registers software to Tabac stores across the country. If the process turned out to be positive, Keplerk said he would look at ways to go further in an attempt to make cryptography accessible to 24,000 similar stores nationwide.
Keplerk co-founder Adil Zakhar said that selling cryptocurrency via a trusted partner allows millions of clients to access crypto through a trusted member of their community rather than through a face-to-face (and probably unregulated) online exchange.
"Some people find it complicated to get [crypto] online … They trust the owner of the local tobacco store more than they would trust a remote anonymous website, "Zakhar said, according to the press release.
In a context of declining tobacco sales, Tabac stores have increasingly diversified into other products, such as telephone credit, prepaid payment cards and remittance services. With cryptographic coupons now added to that list, there's another good reason for customers to attend their local store.
For the moment, the scheme remains limited to the BTC token. However, there is a suggestion that a future implementation could include a wider range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin SV, to meet the growing consumer demand.
