McDonald’s signs up with crypto rewards venture LoyalCoin

McDonald’s in the Philippines has partnered with LoyalCoin to provide a cryptocurrency-based rewards programme for customers.

Further details here.

McDonald’s joins a fast growing list of retailers circling the crypto space. Earlier this month, it emerged that Starbucks had received “significant equity” in the upcoming platform Bakkt in return for a commitment to allow in-store Bitcoin-based payments this year.

According to The Block, the coffee giant will initially install Bakkt’s payment software in its US stores, which customers can use to pay with crypto. No actual cryptocurrency will end up processed by the chain, as it will be instantly transferred into fiat.

The amount of equity Starbucks received in the deal is confidential, but sources “suggest it is disproportionately high given they did not actually make a cash investment.”

“There’s high value from having a brand at this level,” an unnamed expert close to the deal told The Block.