GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — The cryptocurrency Bitcoin hit an all time high of over $23,000 this week, sending investors a flurry, but one local restaurant says crypto is more than just a misunderstood investment vehicle: at JJ Cafe on Green Bay’s east side, it’s a way to pay for lunch.
JJ Cafe is now taking crypto payments alongside cash and cards.
Jamie Waller is a manager there, and has been involved in the cryptocurrency community for over 10 years. He says the idea came after they installed a Bitcoin ATM at the restaurant.
“I said, ‘why not go on the forefront here and start taking the payments ourselves?’” recalled Waller. “We’re not expecting a huge influx of people to come running in or anything right away, but we figured, why not?”
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized digital currency where coin ownership records are stored in a special digital ledger secured through an encryption method called cryptography. Bitcoin was the first, however hundreds of others have sprung up in its wake, including Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Monero, Tron, Chainlink, and others.
Over 100 different cryptocurrencies will be accepted at JJ Cafe through an app called “CoinPayments”. It’s easy enough to do, Waller says.
“We put in the total of the bill, it shows a QR code,” said Waller. “They pick which coin they want to pay with on their phone, scan the code, and that sends the money, and the transaction’s done.”
Even though Waller says he doesn’t expect a whole ton of use out of the system at first, he says it’s a business friendly idea.
“For one, there are very little processing fees, if any, depending on the coin,” Waller told WTAQ. “The restaurant, ourselves, we get to keep more of it, we don’t get 3% taken out for credit card processing fees. We don’t have to go through banks.”
Waller says in an era where COVID-19 has wrecked havoc on the service industry, any dollar saved counts.
