Burger King Germany Introduces Bitcoin as an Online Payment Option

Sep 03, 2019
15:09
2 min reading

Choise.com team

While there are ongoing efforts from companies like Nestle and Starbucks to implement blockchain technology in food supply chains, to track logistics and verify information such as expiry dates, a popular American fast-food chain decided to implement Bitcoin as a payment option.

Today, on the 3rd September 2019, Bitcoin appeared as a payment option on Burger King’s official delivery website for Germany. While the online platform offers a wide variety of payment systems, such as PayPal, VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, and Klarna, Bitcoin’s symbol suddenly appeared alongside them.

At the moment, it is uncertain whether any of the food chain’s 600 physical locations in Germany support Bitcoin, as there is no official announcement available. However, Germans are free to pay with Bitcoin through both the delivery platform and its smartphone application, which is available on Android and iOS.

In July 2017, a fast-food delivery platform in Germany named ‘Lieferando’ decided to accept Bitcoin as well. Surprisingly enough, the payment option is still available after two years of being announced. During the same time, a Burger King store in the eastern part of Netherlands decided to accept the cryptocurrency for transactions.

Image result for whoppercoin — Burger King Launched Its Own Cryptocurrency, the Whoppercoin

Buying Burgers with Bitcoin as a Bull Run Indicator?

Shortly before the start of the last bull run in 2017, Burger King Russia also decided to implement Bitcoin as a payment option in an unnamed branch, while the cryptocurrency would be available in all other Russian Burger King locations after a successful pilot project.

Only two months later in August, Burger King Russia announced the Whoppercoin, a cryptocurrency based on the Waves platform. Creating a total supply of one billion tokens, the new project was established as a blockchain-based loyalty program. Waves is a blockchain project created by a Russian entrepreneur named Alexander Ivanov. The project managed to raise $16 million during its ICO in 2016.

The food store claimed that customers would receive one token for every Russian Ruble they spent. Accordingly, customers could purchase a burger after accumulating 1,700 Whoppercoins. The decision was introduced at a time where the Russian government softened its stance on cryptocurrencies, deciding to regulate the industry instead of outright blocking it.

In January 2018, KFC Canada announced on its social media platform a new product named ‘The Bitcoin Bucket.’ The new menu option was available for a limited time and could only be ordered online. Priced at 20 Canadian dollars, the Bitcoin Bucket offered a variety of KFC products with the price converted in Bitcoin stamped on the bucket.

While the crypto craze attracted a multitude of corporations, who at the time decided to jump on the bandwagon and introduce Bitcoin as a payment option, the bear run that followed shortly after resulted in a majority of companies withdrawing the payment option. According to data from SpendBitcoins, only 18 restaurants in the US accept Bitcoin