Walmart shoppers are starting to notice a new item for sale in the stores’ candy aisle: Bitcoin. Well, Bitcoin chocolates wrapped up in gold foil. And to get in on the action, all you need is a dollar. What would you rather spend that dollar on, 0.00015 Bitcoin or 6 delicious chocolate snacks?
Walmart Selling Bitcoin Candy: Low Key Viral Ad Campaign?
Neither Bitcoin, Walmart or the chocolate company behind the crypto candies has made any public comment about the new product. But it’s not hard to guess that the move is motivated by a desire to continue spreading the cryptocurrency phenomenon into the mainstream and capitalize on its popularity at the same time.
Many Reddit users have already posted photos of the Bitcoin candy on aisle end caps in Walmart stores across the country. But you’ll have to go into a store to pick up some for yourself. Bitcoin chocolates aren’t available for shipping or online order-ahead.
Despite what some rumors have stated, however, there’s no cryptocurrency value in the chocolate Bitcoins. Not even bitcoin vs bitcoin cash. Buying them won’t give you a crypto balance and you can’t trade the chocolate coins on any of the most secure cryptocurrency exchanges.
What you can do, though, is feast on some sweet milk chocolate from Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company, the makers of the Bitcoin candy. And there’s no doubt that the highly visible displays will connect with the more than 140 million Americans who shop at Walmart every week. With Walmart selling Bitcoin candy, that’s massive exposure for the leading crypto. No word yet on the availability of chocolate alt-coins!
Walmart Is Aggressively Pursuing Blockchain Technology
While some retailers are beginning to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, Walmart isn’t there yet. What the company is interested in, however, is the technology that makes cryptocurrency possible. The revolutionary technology is known as blockchain.
As one of the U.S.’s largest retailers, Walmart is a supply chain behemoth. And managing international logistics in a smart, efficient way is one of the most compelling enterprise-level applications of blockchain and distributed ledger technology.
Already, Walmart has filed for a number of blockchain patents. One patent application addresses Internet of Things ecosystems to manage networks of smart appliances. Another application focuses on “smart package” systems to manage deliveries. And Walmart’s most recent patent application deals with creating and networking autonomous delivery robots to manage supply chains based on smart contracts.
Those innovations could help Walmart, still, a large brick and mortar establishment, to compete with online giants like Amazon. For consumers, blockchain systems will largely be a behind the scenes phenomenon. But they’ll improve customer safety and security in many ways. For now, let’s just hope actual BTC prices don’t drop to $1.
