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Spotted at BBC News is the report that Burger King has launched a crypto-currency-like scheme in Russia called "WhopperCoin".
Customers will be able to claim one coin for every rouble (1.3p) they spend on the Whopper sandwich.
Russians will be able to buy a Whopper with the virtual cash, once they have amassed 1,700 whoppercoins.
The company said it would release Apple and Android apps next month so people could save, share and trade their wallet full of whoppercoins.
Burger King has partnered with crypto-cash start-up Waves to create and run the scheme.
The tech company will run the blockchain ledger for the coin to keep track of who has coins and what has been done with them.
Customers will be able to claim their coins by scanning a receipt with a smartphone.
The crypto-currency is a stand-alone system that has some technical similarities to Bitcoin but is distinct from it.
Also covered at Verge and CNBC, this scheme appears to be using the blockchain as a loyalty rewards scheme:
WhopperCoin transactions will be powered by Ethereum rival Waves' distributed ledger network. The blockchain platform allows users to issue and transfer custom blockchain tokens, and to trade them on an integrated peer-to-peer exchange.
The Waves Community page contains further information on this scheme.
(Score: 3, Touché) by richtopia on Wednesday August 30 2017, @01:31PM (4 children)
Sounds a lot more sustainable than most cryptocurrencies I've heard of.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 30 2017, @05:01PM (1 child)
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea outbreak wipes out the value of ButtCoin! News at 9!
(finally posted in the right place)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday August 31 2017, @08:17PM
Oh they do still use bovines for the meat? how quaint.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 31 2017, @07:42PM
Bitcoin and other big cryptocoins are backed by the same thing the dollar is: Fear. The dollar is backed by the fear of what the men with guns at the behest of the IRS will do to you if you don't pay your taxes. Bitcoin is backed by the fear that the people who control the dollar market will mismanage/spy/otherwise abuse their position, and there is the belief that Bitcoin can maintain the position of a currency without the concerns of the dollar (and other major world currencies) better than other alternatives available.
The skyrocketing prices and the wild volatility make a lot more sense when you realize the whole market is driven by fear. But it seems less crazy when you notice that conventional markets are too, they're just more established and at least most of the time, more stabilized.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday August 31 2017, @08:20PM
Indeed. On the other hand, their branches ALWAYS have people queuing up to make withdrawals, and that is not a good sign is it?
Account abandoned.