Thailand Department Store Chain Is Testing Its Own Cryptocurrency

A Thai department store chain is trialing its own cryptocurrency for use by employees with a view to offering it to customers in the future.

• Central Retail Corp., Thailand’s biggest shopping center developer, is distributing its blockchain-based “C-Coin” to 80,000 employees on a merit basis to use as a substitute for cash in its stores, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
• The C-Coin may be expanded to customers once employee testing is complete.
• Kowin Kulruchakorn, chief innovation officer for Central Retail Corp.’s tech arm, said plans are not settled as to how the coin would be distributed to customers, such as listing it for trading.
• According to its website, Central Retail Corp. operates over 2,000 stores across 54 provinces in Thailand, as well as over 100 in Vietnam and nine in Italy.

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