Parisians Can Pay Crypto to Charge Phones at Burger King – Is Crypto Adoption on the Rise?

Crypto adoption is increasing in France with Paris branches of Burger King set to install crypto-powered machines that charge the batteries of customers’ phones and mobile devices.

In a press release from the crypto pay firm Alchemy Pay, the company announced that it had partnered with the fast food giant’s French subsidiary. 

The deal will let customers use either Alchemy Pay or Binance Pay to pay for power top-ups in Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins, as well as fiat.

Customers will be able to use their tokens to pay at newly installed Instpower power bank rental machines.

Instpower is a Hong Kong-based firm that creates standalone power machines. 

By offering rechargeable power banks for customers to plug their devices like smartphones into, convenience stores and restaurants can increase foot traffic in their establishments.

Yann Phu, the CEO of Flash Development, the European Instpower distributor, stated:

“This collaboration with Burger King in Paris has taken us to the next level with our operations in Europe. Instpower’s machines will enable customers to power their devices while on the move. We are bringing cutting-edge payment options to Europeans.”

Is Crypto Adoption Rising in the Fast Food World?

The link between crypto and fast food has certainly developed in the past few years.

Burger King began accepting crypto pay for food orders in Venezuela in 2019 via a partnership with the local crypto exchange Cryptobuyer.

Nos complace anunciar nuestra alianza comercial con @BurgerKingVE. A partir de hoy podrás comer como un rey y a tu manera pagando con #bitcoin #dash #litecoin #ethereum $BNB y #tether.

Disponible sólo en CC Sambil #Caracas#Venezuela @30Dic #FelizLunes pic.twitter.com/wOreB9wDPM

— Cryptobuyer (@cryptobuyer) December 30, 2019

And the fast food chain’s rivals have also been getting in on the act.

Last year, a McDonald’s branch in Lugano, Switzerland, piloted a digital kiosk that allows customers to pay in Bitcoin and Tether (USDT).

🇨🇭 Paying at McDonald's with #Bitcoin in Lugano, Switzerland. pic.twitter.com/8IdcupEEKQ

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 3, 2022

McDonald’s also showed crypto awareness when its social media accounts trolled BTC and altcoin owners during the market downturn of early 2022.

Fast food restaurants in El Salvador also accept BTC pay since the government adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021.

Just walked into a McDonald's in San Salvador to see if I could pay for my breakfast with bitcoin, tbh fully expecting to be told no.

But low and behold, they printed a ticket with QR that took me to a webpage with Lightning invoice, and now I'm enjoying my desayuno traditional! pic.twitter.com/NYCkMNbv7U

— Aaron van Wirdum (@AaronvanW) September 7, 2021

And in February this year, Binance boss Changpeng “CZ” Zhao claimed that customers could now “buy fries with crypto.”

Buy fries with crypto.

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) February 28, 2023

He made the comments after his firm partnered with CityPay.io in Georgia in a deal that will “allow users in the region to not only secure Wendy’s with crypto, but also spend at more than 600 other vendors, including major hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets.”