A newly opened rooftop bar, Fable Melbourne, has just announced that they’re accepting payment via cryptocurrencies, as part of an emerging global trend in retail and hospitality industries.
Since bursting onto the tech scene back in 2009, cryptocurrency has had a bit of a shaky ride—mostly thanks to one Elon Musk—but it seems to have recovered on a steady incline, with an increase in hospitality venues accepting crypto payments across Sydney, and now, Melbourne.
“As technology evolves, each and every business needs to adapt or fear getting left behind,” Fable Melbourne’s owner Gehan Rajapakse (Sofitel, Marrakech, Rah Bar, Club 23, Crown Casino) tells Thrillist Australia.
“This was evident by the era of accepting credit cards in the 80’s, the internet boom in the early 2000’s, the acceptance of Paypal and other payment gateways, and now the acceptance of cryptocurrency in its varying forms.
“Just like accepting other forms of payment, everything comes down to the technology available to businesses to be able to integrate into their operations. Blockchain technology is seeing an exponential growth in this technology, with payment gateways for cryptocurrencies increasing the ability to bridge this gap—allowing brick and mortar businesses to accept cryptocurrencies much easier to plug into their existing operations.”
While Fable is the first venue we’ve heard of in Melbourne that is integrating cryptocurrency payments into their system, Gehan is already working on a plan to include crypto in upcoming venue plans, as well as existing venues he has, such as Sofitel, Marrakech, Rah Bar, Club 23 and Crown Casino.
“We have already started developing the capability for our new venues we are planning to roll out over the coming years. We have also started looking at integrating this into our other businesses also.”
If cryptocurrency still feels like a foreign concept to you, then you’re not alone. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always felt a bit behind on the crypto train—it truly lives in a world of its own. Although it’s not yet a vital system to get behind, there are benefits to crypto and definite reasons to embrace its framework.
“The biggest benefits of paying with crypto is that you are in full control of your funds, and how and when you spend it,” explains Gehan, “there is no bank that controls it, and the costs of transactions are much less.”
These are massive benefits, however, they also outline the instabilities that come with investing in crypto, because without a corporate financial organisation controlling your funds, there is no real protection. We’ve already seen this play out internationally last year, with Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, and China all banning cryptocurrency due to its instability. So basically, in those countries, your cryptocurrency holds no worth.
However, as is obvious in western countries like Australia, the US and UK, cryptocurrency is on a steady incline, and is predicted to be seen in more and more new hospitality venues and shopping precincts.
So, perhaps, we actually aren’t behind at all? If you’re into the idea of understanding and investing in crypto, now seems like the right time.
Gehan gives us a brief summary of what cryptocurrency is:
“Cryptocurrency is an exciting new digital storage of value, written on blockchain technology. Over the past few years this digital storage of value has grown into mass adoption, and still in its early days and will only grow in popularity. Benefits include more efficient transactions, full transparency of ledgers for increased security.”
You can check out Fable Melbourne and book a spot here, or follow them on socials here.
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