France is going crazy for crypto.
By next year, 25,000 retail points of sale across 30 brands, including sporting goods chain Decathlon, sneaker giant Foot Locker and beauty leader Sephora, will be set up to accept bitcoin in France, thanks to a new partnership by a trio of payments industry players.
Global POS, Easy2PlayPayment and EasyWallet are working together to let consumers pay using bitcoin as allowed by the PACTE law in France, which encourages the development and adoption of blockchain-based technologies. Bitcoins are traded between parties on blockchain platforms.
“This is an important symbolic step in the evolution of payment methods in France,” Stéphane Djiane, CEO and founder of Global POS, said in a statement. “However, more than a symbol, what we bring to 25,000 outlets is the ability to safely enter the world of the 3.0 economy.”
Adding to that, Dijane said, “With our partners, we want to simplify the adoption of cryptocurrencies as a real means of payment within the framework defined by the law. If initially, the service we offer will only allow the use of bitcoins, our goal is to open our solution to other cryptocurrencies in the future.”
A recent EasyWallet survey found that 4 million people in France, or about 6.7 percent of the population, own some form of cryptocurrency and the Global POS-led collaboration could propel the adoption of digital currencies into the mainstream.
Global POS worked with ekino, Octo Technology, Smartchain, Havas Blockchain and Fidal to develop this offering. It tapped Deskoin and Savitar to manage conversion of cryptocurrencies into euros.
The market for cryptocurrencies was valued at more than $856 billion as of August, per data from Azoth Analytics. It’s expected to see a combined annual growth rate of 11.9 percent through 2024. Progressive legal frameworks and recognition in the European bloc are among factors spurring this growth, the analytics firm added.