AMC will begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for theatre tickets later this year

The American movie theatre chain AMC has announced that it will start accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for theatre tickets by the end of this year. Payments with Bitcoin will be made online and will be accepted in all AMC theatres across the US. The company will also add Apple Pay and Google Pay options later in 2021 as well. AMC CEO Adam Aron said the company would also explore other avenues to participate in the “burgeoning cryptocurrency universe.”

Zoom Out: AMC became a “meme stock” this year thanks to retail traders participating on Reddit’s WallStreetBets subreddit. Meme stocks are stocks that have gone viral online by drawing the attention of retail investors. These stocks generally see an increase in volume not because of the company’s performance but rather because of hype on social media and online forums like Reddit. They often become overvalued and see drastic price changes. AMC, for example, has seen its share price surge 1,479.60% since the start of the year. GameStop and BlackBerry are among other examples of meme stocks.