Blockchain and crypto in retail: the past week at a glance

Lolli announces Safeway Bitcoin partnership

Rewards shopping app Lolli has partnered with Albertsons Companies’ subsidiary Safeway to give customers 3.5% back in Bitcoin when purchasing groceries online.

Customers will be rewarded in Satoshis (sats) — the name given to one hundred millionth of one Bitcoin — the smallest unit of the cryptocurrency. Lolli CEO and Co-Founder, Alex Adelman, says: “I’m extremely proud to partner with Safeway, one of the most well-recognised food retailers in the United States.”

“Americans are already shopping for groceries at least once a week, why not earn some Bitcoin off those frequent purchases? Hopefully this will give people to ability to get involved in holding and owning Bitcoin, perhaps for the first time.”

Further details here.

Phone House brings crypto payments to Portugal with UTRUST

Phone House has teamed with payment platform UTRUST, enabling customers in Portugal to purchase electronics at phonehouse.pt using cryptocurrencies. Other countries will be added in the coming months.

UTRUST CEO, Nuno Correia, says: “We’re delighted to be adding Phone House as our latest merchant and offering their customers and the crypto community as a whole the option of paying for electronics using a variety of cryptocurrencies. This follows on from our recent partnership announcement with major football club S.L. Benfica and we look forward to adding more merchants in the coming weeks and months. ”

Pedro Brehm, General Director of Phone House Portugal, adds: “This announcement coincides with the redesign of the Portugal online store. We are living through challenging times for retailers, defined by constant change and new concepts. We are innovating and anticipating these changes, and through this partnership we are positioning ourselves as a first mover.”

With the UTRUST platform, users can pay using native token (UTK) in addition to such cryptocurrencies as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company provides crypto-to-fiat conversions. It says that Phone House will be able “to settle payments directly to its bank in fiat on the very same day they are received, shielding them from any risk of market volatility”.

AS Roma signs up with blockchain powered Socios.com platform

AS Roma has become the second Italian football club to join Socios.com, a blockchain-based fan engagement and rewards mobile platform developed by Chiliz. It lines up alongside the likes of Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and West Ham United in offering fan tokens to supporters.

As AS Roma’s official cryptocurrency partner, Socios.com will provide digital assets that give fans the right to vote in certain decisions. The more fans do so, the more rewards they can earn. From the autumn, they will be able to choose the name of a club facility, make decisions over warm-up related activities at Stadio Olimpico, as well as decide which player will feature in a live Twitter Q&A.

Fan tokens will be tradeable against Socios.com’s native token, $CHZ, which is currently listed on BitMax, KuCoin and Binance DEX. Francesco Calvo, Chief Revenue Officer at AS Roma, says: “As a club we have a duty to always be very attentive and proactive towards new technologies and innovation. Thanks to Socios.com’s blockchain platform, we can guarantee new opportunities to our fan base around the world, giving them the possibility to interact in an innovative way with their favourite team.”

Oranco announces blockchain trial

Oranco, a Chinese alcohol wholesaler and marketer that specialises in Fenjiu liquor and imported wines, is testing out blockchain-based anti-counterfeiting laser recognition technology.

Peng Yang, President of Oranco, comments:“We believe the verification capabilities of blockchain will enable us to credibly assure the origins and authenticity of our premium alcoholic beverages. This technology will assure the authenticity and further build the value of our premium products. We look forward to further exploring and exploiting blockchain technologies following this exciting step.”