The legal marijuana market has had difficulty establishing banking relationships, given the disparities in local and federal regulation of cannabis sales. SinglePoint Inc. is developing a bitcoin-based option to address this concern.
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Manager Ross Phillip stakes marijuana plants in a flower room at the grow facility for Sense of Healing dispensary in Denver, Colorado, U.S., on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015. The $3.5 billion U.S. cannabis market is emerging as one of the nation's most power-hungry industries, with the 24-hour demands of thousands of indoor growing sites taxing aging electricity grids and unraveling hard-earned gains in energy conservation. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Ross Phillip
Matthew Staver/Bloomberg
SinglePoint is working with First Bitcoin Capital Corp., a bitcoin and blockchain technology company, to develop a bitcoin-based payment system for cannabis sellers.
“There is now tremendous momentum and demand for bitcoin acceptance as an alternative form of payment," Greg Lambrecht, SinglePoint's CEO, said in a June 6 news release. "This joint venture with First Bitcoin Capital is perfect timing. Bitcoin payments are catching on and cannabis dispensaries need a solution fast.”
The partners plan to distribute their offering as a downloadable application for point of sale machines.
The offering would compete with other pot payment innovations such as cashless ATMs and dedicated prepaid cards.
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