Night Clubs In Paraguay Accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Shiba Inu As Payment Methods

JAKARTA – The largest entertainment company in Paraguay, Grupo Cinco is reportedly starting to accept cryptocurrency payments in July. Grupo Cinco will accept Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Chiliz (CHZ).

Owners of the four cryptocurrencies can enjoy nightclubs, restaurants, and pubs from the 24 Grupo Cinco outlets. The information was conveyed by company directors Santiago Sosa and Rodrigo Nogues Bazan, as reported by CoinDesk.

The decision was announced after Paraguayan congressman Carlos Rejala plans to submit a bill to legalize cryptocurrencies as well as to attract international Bitcoin mining companies and global crypto businesses to Paraguay.

Grupo Cinco is the largest entertainment company in Paraguay that has a great influence on the younger generation. The news from the company is likely to encourage the passage of the bill in congress.

“We are talking about a prominent Paraguayan businessman who has a lot of influence on young people. This is very important because it will be easier for my fellow deputies to support the bill if there is social support at the local level”, said Rejala.

When accepting payments in cryptocurrencies, Grupo Cinco will provide vendors and customers with traditional invoices and signatures. Sosa revealed that his company has more than 50.000 regular customers per month.

In 2019, Grupo Cinco had an entertainment business unit called G5Pro which sold 450.000 tickets for events held that year. Although the company intends to accept cryptocurrencies, G5Pro will not immediately accept cryptocurrency payments for ticket purchases.

Sosa explained that the cryptocurrency payments were organized in collaboration with the boss of a Bitcoin mining company in his country, Juanjo Benitez Rickmann, owner of Bitcoin.com.py.

Rickmann explained that the payment process itself will take place quickly, using the Lightning Network. Merchants can keep the cryptocurrency or exchange it for cash.

However, for now, Grupo Cinco will include cryptocurrencies in the digital asset class. This is because Paraguay does not yet have a crypto law.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sosa and Bazan adopted cryptocurrency for their own use. Nevertheless, the two decided to accept cryptocurrencies in the company.

Grupo Cinco's policies are expected to encourage the younger generation of Paraguayans to use cryptocurrencies. The reason is, as many as 80 percent of the company's customers are aged 18 to 25 years. As many as 60 percent of Paraguay's population is under the age of 30.

“It keeps Paraguay open to new experiences (on a continuous basis)”, said Sosa, quoted from CoinDesk.