PARIS TOBACCO SHOP CUSTOMERS BUYING BITCOIN
Anyone who's ever visited France is probably familiar with the "Tabac" sign. But as well as cigarettes, cigars and lottery tickets and the like, visitors to their Paris Tabacs can now buy bitcoins as well.
With the backing of French fintech group Keplerk, the crypto-currency has gone on sale in six tobacco shops in and around Paris.
Adil Zakhar, one of Keplerk's co-founders, hopes to enroll up to 6,500 Tabacs by February.
Late last year, Keplerk secured a contract with a local cash-register software provider to include an option for Tabac owners to sell vouchers redeemable for bitcoins in an electronic wallet that is held on Keplerk's website.
Threatened by dwindling tobacco sales, France's 24,000 licensed tobacco shops have diversified into products such as prepaid credit cards, cellphone credits and money transfer services.
Bitcoin has attracted a mix of investors, some convinced that it can reshape global finance and others attracted by rapid gains that pushed the value close to $20,000 in late 2017.
It has since lost three-quarters of its value, falling to $4,016 on Tuesday (January 8).
French regulators in November warned potential customers against buying crypto-currencies, saying the unregulated financial instrument is highly volatile.
However, they have not blocked Keplerk's Tabac plan.
Industry observers have criticized the retail initiative, saying it is cheaper and faster to buy bitcoin online.