You Will Soon Be Able to Use Bitcoin at This Movie Theatre Chain

AMC announced Monday that American movie-goers can soon use bitcoin to pay for tickets and concessions. Apple Pay and Google Pay will also soon be accepted for online purchases at U.S. theaters.

CEO Adam Aron told investors during the company's earnings call, "I've had to learn more in the past six months about blockchain and cryptocurrency than I learned about it in the entire decade before that."

Aron hopes the company can become more involved "in this new burgeoning cryptocurrency universe" and leadership is "quite intrigued" by the business opportunities it involves.

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AMC (AMC) shares went up 5.3% in after-hours trading and bitcoin went up 5.5% on Monday evening.

The movie theater company has had a unique year as it explores the best ways to re-open following coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. In May, stock jumped to $12.77 after AMC Entertainment Holdings announced it raised over $400 million through a 43 million share at-the-market equity offering.

Individual investors on Reddit and social media used the #AMCSqueeze hashtag to discuss the event. AMC garnered significant hype on Reddits r/WallStreetBets forum, whose members bought up AMC stock at the same time they were making headlines for their big bets on companies like GameStop.

"Just go on Twitter, just go on Reddit, just go on YouTube, read what these people write," Aron said at the time. "They love AMC. And these are not people who are just going to be investors in AMC. These are going to be customers of AMC who come to our theaters and enjoy watching movies at our theaters as paying guests."

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