110-year-old U.S. retail chain 'Bealls' fully adopts virtual asset payments

Bealls, a U.S. retail chain with 110 years of history, has officially introduced virtual asset (cryptocurrency) payments, joining the traditional retail industry's digital transformation.

According to The Block on the 21st (local time), Bealls, founded in Florida in 1915, began supporting virtual asset payments at more than 660 stores nationwide through cooperation with payment technology company Flexa. With this integration, consumers can pay with more than 99 cryptocurrencies via Flexa's payment infrastructure 'Flexa Payments', and it is also linked with more than 300 digital wallet services.

This service is available at Bealls, Bealls Florida, and Home Centric stores.

Flexa co-founder Trevor Filter said, "It is a natural evolution that Bealls, which has been a pillar of U.S. retail for 110 years, now adopts one of the world's most innovative payment technologies," adding, "This partnership is an important turning point that breaks down the boundary between offline retail and blockchain payments."

Currently, there are about 65 million cryptocurrency users in the U.S., which corresponds to 28% of the adult population. Experts see Bealls' decision as a catalyst to expand cryptocurrencies as a real-world payment method.

Retail industry officials said, "If customers can use cryptocurrencies at familiar stores, the normalization of digital assets will accelerate," and "the participation of such traditional companies will raise market confidence."