Samsung Accepts Cryptocurrency Payments in Three Baltic States

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"Samsung is reportedly accepting cryptocurrency payments in several Baltic States using crypto payment platform CopPay.

The Lithuania-based company made the announcement today. Customers in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, and Kaunas in the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will be able to purchase Samsung smartphones, tablets, laptops, TV sets, and more with cryptocurrency.

The South Korean multinational conglomerate will be accepting crypto payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, Dash, NEM, and Steem. In Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, there are three Samsung shops which take cryptocurrency payments. In Latvia’s Riga and Estonia’s Tallinn there is one Samsung store in each country. In addition to the three Baltic States, CopPay also has several merchants using its platform in Portugal. The company also announced via press release that cryptocurrency will also soon bcome an accepted method of payment on Samsung’s online stores.

“There is a growing trend toward business digitalisation and allowing customers to pay for goods and services in cryptocurrency, whether at global retailers or local restaurants,” CopPay said in light of the news.

Samsung is no stranger to the cryptocurrency world. In January, the electronics company revealed that it was entering the crypto mining chips industry by making them. It made the announcement in its earnings report where Samsung said growing demand for mining chips would help to boost its earnings. In April, the firm revealed a 58 per cent year-on-year growth in its operating profits in Q1 2018, which was partly driven by the demand for cryptocurrency mining chips.

Not only that, but Samsung sees the potential that the blockchain has. So much so, that it is using the technology to manage its global supply. In an April report from Bloomberg, the electronics company said that the blockchain could track global shipments worth tens of billion of dollars a year. It could also cut shipping costs by as much as 20 percent.

This latest move from Samsung comes at a time when the crypto market is steadily gaining mainstream ground. The market has also risen in recent days, pushing Bitcoin back up to $7,460, according to CoinMarketCap, representing a more than 19 percent increase in seven days. Such a surge in value follows Bitcoin dropping twice below $6,000 last month.

However, Arthur Hayes, co-founder and co-CEO of BitMEX, doesn’t think the worst has been seen so far. In an interview with CNBC’s ‘Fast Money,’ yesterday, he said:

“I think the current rally will top out close to but not greater than $10,000. Then we will fall and test $5,000. If that holds then we can rally to $50,000 by year end.”

According to a February study, small business owners think cryptocurrency payments will become a reality on the high street within two years. Whereas, eToro and the Imperial College London have published new research indicating that cryptocurrencies have the potential of becoming a mainstream form of payment in the next 10 years."