CeX, a chain which buys, sells and exchanges technological and electronic products, will switch to Bitcoin in its Glasgow store. In so doing, it will become the first shop in the UK to pay out Bitcoin in exchange for goods.
Winds of change
“'It's really exciting to be at the center of such an innovative trial,” commercial director David Butler told the Daily Mail.
Recent surveys have shown mixed views from the British public regarding digital currencies, but popularity is nevertheless growing and Butler thinks it is “only appropriate” that CeX looked into offering Bitcoin payment for its customers whom he says “live and breathe technology.”
The move comes at a turbulent time in Scotland, with the country due to vote in a referendum on secession from the UK in September. Should independence go ahead, there is debate over whether the country should also adopt a new currency and no longer use the Pound Sterling.
Butler says however that the move is not politically motivated. “While we are temporarily dropping the pound from our Glasgow store,” he continued, “we are doing so to give customers a choice in how they trade.”
CeX joins the growing Bitcoin-accepting business community in the UK, which now includes companies from all sectors of the economy, from taxi firms to financial services.
