Iconic Australian Venue Now Accepts Crypto for Food and Drink Purchases

Adelaide Oval, a landmark South Australian sporting venue, now allows AFL patrons to purchase food and beverages using crypto. This marks the first instance of such a payment option being offered at a major national stadium.

A collaborative effort between Crypto.com, the Adelaide Crows Football Club, and fintech software firm DataMesh facilitates this initiative. It brings state-of-the-art payment technology and terminals to the venue. The announcement strategically coincides with the AFL’s 2024 Gather Round event, which is anticipated to draw thousands of fans across five scheduled AFL matches.

The crypto payment service for fans will take place at the AFL’s Gather Round event starting April 4. It will function as a pilot program extending throughout the remaining duration of the 2024 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

Pay with Crypto is now available at The Adelaide Oval 📢 @AFL Fans can now buy food and drinks using the https://t.co/vCNztATkNg App for the rest of the 2024 season 🌭

Thanks to @TheAdelaideOval, @Adelaide_FC and DataMesh

Read more: https://t.co/qZTYmzWGv0 pic.twitter.com/XkhzaUM3yJ

— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) April 3, 2024

Cashback Incentives for Crypto Payments at Adelaide Oval

For patrons opting to use crypto, Crypto.com will be designated as the favored payment processor during checkout. This action will generate a unique QR code on the merchant terminal. The customer can then scan this code with their Crypto.com app to select and authorize their preferred cryptocurrency for the transaction.

To incentivize early adoption, a cashback offer of AUD$10 will be applied to the initial 1,000 crypto transactions completed during the Gather Round event.

Further, additional promotional initiatives are planned throughout the remainder of the 2024 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, particularly during Adelaide Crows home games.

Karl Mohan, General Manager of Crypto.com’s APAC division, lauded the implemented payment solution’s user-friendly and scalable nature. He further said “we see a lot of promise for future integrations like this.”

Crypto Payments Gain Momentum in Australia

Adelaide Oval’s crypto payment adoption signifies continued progress for Crypto.com in fostering real-world crypto transactions throughout Australia.

This initiative builds upon its prior success, notably a collaboration with Datamesh and OTR in 2023. That partnership yielded the launch of Australia’s first in-store crypto payment system, operational across more than 440 Peregrine retail locations in Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.

Estimates suggest that roughly 20% of Australians may own crypto. But the Reserve Bank of Australia expresses reservations about the accuracy of such figures due to potential survey biases.

Nevertheless, a growing trend of interest in cryptocurrencies is evident, with some Australians even holding assets like Dogecoin. Notably, even within the RBA, some staff members have engaged in personal crypto investments, further highlighting the increasing prevalence of these digital assets.

Moreover, a survey conducted following the US SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 10 indicated a 25% increase in positive sentiment towards Bitcoin amongst Australians.

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