EAST GREENWICH – A local cigar shop is making the leap into the cryptocurrency world, claiming it’s the first retailer of its kind in the country to accept the ultra-secure form of digital money as payment, Regency Cigar Emporium announced on Monday.
Regency unveiled options for cryptocurrency payments late last week, according to owner Michael Correia. Already, the local cigar shop and bar has had one customer pay by cryptocurrency, he said.
Correia said the decision to accept the digital money as a payment is simply a way to serve more customers.
“We want to give our clients as many options as possible when they’re shopping,” he said.
The record success and skyrocketing value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies was a frequent topic of discussion at the retail store’s spirits and cigar bar over the last year. However, these highs have also come with severe lows, including double-digit percentage moves just this weekend.
Correia, who has invested personally in three cryptocurrencies, one of which is Bitcoin, admitted their performances have been volatile, but feels comfortable that the payment poses little risk to his business.
Once a customer pays online or in the store using one of the five accepted cryptocurrencies, he can convert that payment into U.S. dollars almost immediately.
“Unless we really decide to build a storage of holding onto the cryptocurrency, the risk is pretty minimal,” he said.
Correia also saw the decision as a way to cash in on the rising popularity of cryptocurrency among investors and what he predicts to be increasing use in transactions across industries. The 25-year business has long prided itself on being on the forefront of technological innovation, including by launching a robust website in the 1990s, long before most of its competition, Correia said.
Regency will accept Bitcoin, Atheneum, Litecoin, Ripple XRP and Stellar.
