For most people worldwide, AMC is simply a chain of cinemas. But for cryptophiles, it’s an investment opportunity as well as a company run by a forward-thinking, interesting character, Adam Aron. The cinematic CEO lit the Twittersphere on fire just a few weeks ago when he announced that AMC Entertainment’s theaters will be accepting various forms of bitcoin as payment (though the same announcement was made in August on the company’s earnings call). And yes, that will indubitably include dogecoin, which can already be used to buy AMC gift cards up to $200.
If you’re a bitcoin fan, you’d have to be living under a rock to not know who Adam Aron is, but just in case, here’s a quick bio. The Harvard graduate and MBA hails from Philadelphia and, in addition to his work in hospitality, travel and entertainment, has been an advisor to presidents as varied as Clinton, Dubya and Obama. During his time at Vail Resorts, he was lauded by many news sources as reviving the US ski industry – no small achievement, considering the strongholds Switzerland, France and Italy have on the sport.
A true man of the people in terms of listening to the hoi polloi (at least via Twitter poll), Aron’s active interaction and the fact he seems to heed the opinions of lay investors and customers makes him an instant favourite with crypto fangirls and boys.
Anyone who’s been taking crypto cues from the former head of Norwegian Cruise Line, Starwood Hotels and the Philly 76ers (to name a few), will also have kept an eye on his connection with Arqit, a cybersecurity firm that offers cloud-based symmetric encryption (more on that here, for the no0bs) in a usable, scalable solution. It’s a fully-integrated, zero-trust approach to encryption that works with IoT and many a hacker will be frustrated to see this approach to cybersecurity. The British firm also addresses attacks from the future – a.k.a the very real threat of cyber computers (but more on that another time).
So, where does Aron come in?
AMC’s chief was, until very recently, on the board of Centricus Acquisition, a SPAC created to bring Arqit to market (now dissolved and trading under ARQQ on NASDAQ). Once the merger was complete, Aron stepped down from his position on the board due to a conflict of interest. And that is the interesting thing: what conflict of interest? Well, kiddies, lean in close for a bit of anti-FUD gossip that will titillate and delight…
…are you ready?
Not only did Aron tweet about learning a lot about cryptocurrency from Arqit, he then tweeted the same day that AMC will begin accepting bitcoin by year-end. …and it’s rumoured that Arqit is developing its own cryptocurrency. …and (this is finally the exciting bit), those in the know have it on very good authority that AMC and Arqit are currently in talks about future work together – which, of course, his tweets about accepting crypto only solidify.
Why Aron + Arqit
Aron’s democratic approach to listening to the voice of the Twitterpeople is admirable, and this egalitarian approach squares with Arqit’s technology and its founders’ ethics. See, the encryption tech was created with blockchain protection in mind – which democratises the crypto playing field by making it safe and accessible for all. And that should be an appeal for any bitcoin enthusiast, as one of the things that the anti-crypto crowd hates is the cliquey approach, the intense love of jargon and frankly, the sense of smugness many bitcoin babes exude. But, just like the hipper-than-thee music fan who wants to tell you that they discovered Band X before they were big, no one cares that you loved bitcoin before it was big news. And honestly, if you’re a real fan, you’ll want to see it become a widely-understood, used and loved payment method. Egalitarian at its core, bitcoin moves us away from dependence on big banks (and their bailouts) and our capitalist lords and masters.
But, before this heads the way of evangelical preachers, back to Arqit. Already tabbed as a solid long-term investment, the British company has clients and partners that give it some serious gravitas: the US and UK governments, Virgin Orbit, BT and Honeywell, for example.
You heard it here, kiddos: this future-proofing company is one to watch.
