As the world of crypto, NFTs, and blockchain technology becomes increasingly mainstream, we’re starting to see more interest and buy-in from the event and entertainment industries — in a few weeks, the iconic Staples Center will officially be renamed to Crypto.com, and virtual event platform BuzzCast recently announced its plans to incorporate NFTs into its offerings.
Now, Chicago-based Absolute Production Services has become the first corporate event production company in the US to accept cryptocurrencies as payment for services. The company has partnered with crypto platform CoinFlip to power this new offering and will be using the latter’s Trade Desk service to process payments in cryptocurrencies for events. Absolute Production Services Owner and President Charlie Nicosia said the move was a “no-brainer.”
"We've been around for 26 years and had to innovate and pivot several times. From the post-September 11th era to the financial crisis of 2008 to the last 20 months of surviving a pandemic. We've always been on the cutting edge of technology and event services, so accepting crypto seemed like a natural move,” he said in a statement.
While crypto won’t be the default payment method anytime soon, more and more companies are beginning to accept it as payment as clients acquire and invest in cryptocurrencies, particularly as it gains traction on digital platforms and in the emerging metaverse. For example, NextechAR also announced yesterday that it will begin accepting major cryptocurrencies through an integration with Coinbase Commerce to give clients more flexibility in how they pay for services.
It’s unclear exactly how much demand there currently is from clients for this type of option, but it certainly seems to be growing. Using CoinFlip’s platform, Absolute will be able to efficiently process payments in over 40 cryptocurrencies
"We're honored to be partnering with Absolute Production Services as they expand their business model, and look forward to helping more companies adopt the forward-thinking strategy of accepting cryptocurrency as payment," said CoinFlip Co-Founder and President Kristoffer Dayrit in a statement. "As crypto adoption continues to become mainstream, it'll be crucial for businesses to find reliable partners and solutions.”