Today, the BTC company reached another milestone in the development of the business and shopping center BTC City Ljubljana: the first test payment with a cryptocurrency  offline. It was performed at the Atlantis Water Park by Jože Mermal, President of the BTC Management Board. Mermal made a payment in bitcoin through the Elipay payment system. He was accompanied by Dejan Roljic and Matej Gregorcic, co-founders of the Eligma platform. BTC City thus made history by becoming the first Bitcoin City in the world.

The BTC company, which manages BTC City Ljubljana, one of the most important shopping, business and innovation centres in Europe, has always been known for its progressive vision. Over the last few months, BTC has collaborated with a group of young but highly esteemed experts to co-found Eligma, a company developing a cognitive commerce platform which promises to revolutionize online shopping. In April, BTC also founded its own start-up company, BTC Phoenix; in collaboration with Eligma, BTC Phoenix will develop high tech solutions tailored to BTC City Ljubljana visitors. Today, Eligma and BTC Phoenix officially launched Elipay, a cryptocurrency payment system.

Elipay is one of the key functionalities of the Eligma platform, harnessing artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. It currently enables test payments, transfers and deposits in bitcoin and bitcoin cash, with other cryptocurrencies to follow in the future. The first cryptocurrency payment for services took place today at the Atlantis Water Park. This month, such payments will also become possible at the Millenium Sports Center and the Restavracija City restaurant. Letters of intent for the implementation of the Elipay system have been signed with many BTC partners in the wider ​BTC City Ljubljana area, mostly in the retail domain. It is expected that, by the end of the year, cryptocurrency payments will be introduced at more than 100 goods and service suppliers.

Joze Mermal, President of the Management Board of BTC, said: “The BTC company has always been future-oriented. In the past, we established BTC City as one of the strongest European business and shopping centres, and then furthered its innovative dimension by creating an ecosystem for advanced and start-up companies. Bitcoin City is our response to the anticipated trends in future generations. I am convinced that our partnership with Eligma can give rise to one of the most powerful blockchain platforms on a European level. Our content and offers, enhanced by the next-generation shopping experience provided by Eligma and its Elipay system, will consolidate our leading position in Slovenia and give us a competitive advantage on a global scale. ”

Dejan Roljic, Eligma CEO, stated: “Eligma has reached a historic moment that gave the technological advantages of the crypto world the recognition they indeed deserve, and merged the worlds of online and offline shopping into one. Now, we would like to give Eligma supporters and crypto future embracers a chance to be the first to try out Elipay. Bitcoin City will be an excellent opportunity to attract highly diverse buyers looking to use alternative currencies in their daily lives.”

Matej Gregorcic, co-founder of Eligma and founder of the Eligma company, said: “The first payment with a cryptocurrency in the offline world represents a major step towards the pluralism of consumer choices and payment methods. I would like to emphasize that VIB, the Viberate project token, will soon be integrated into the Eligma platform. This means that purchases in Bitcoin City will soon be possible with VIB as well.”

The first payment with a cryptocurrency in BTC City marks the start of the testing period. The testing will include a limited number of test users on the one hand, and product and service providers on the other. Cryptocurrency payments through the Elipay system will be offered by the following establishments: Big Bang, Bijoux Fashion Accessories, Sportina, Tomas Sport, Atlantis Water Park, diVino restaurant, Restavracija City restaurant and Millenium Sports Center. Miha Rakar, manager of the Atlantis Water Park and the Millenium Sports Center, stated: “I am very pleased that the first payment with a cryptocurrency in the offline world was performed here in the Atlantis Water Park because Atlantis is synonymous with diverse generations and active life choices. I see the option of paying with cryptocurrencies as another step into a bright future full of possibilities.”

BTC City Ljubljana hosts more than 21 million visitors a year, with the integration of cryptocurrency payments offline and online promising even more business opportunities. Eligma enables safe, transparent and highly advanced (online) shopping. By the end of 2018, it will enable the discovery of the best offers by various providers in Slovenia, relying on the user’s specifications of the price, terms of purchase and product qualities. The purchased items will be entered into the user’s personalized inventory. In further development stages, Eligma will be able to anticipate the value of the product, monitor it over time and advise the user on the best time to sell the product by comparing the market prices. Towards the end of the year, a single loyalty program will be introduced at BTC City shops, rewarding Eligma users with the ELI crypto token.

Eligma is set to become a virtual personal assistant supporting the chosen lifestyle of the consumer. With the Eligma platform, the BTC company aims to enhance BTC City Ljubljana and empower it to continue to remain a leading shopping, business and logistics centre in the wider European area.

Further information

Maja Oven, Director of the Market Communications and Public Relations Sector

• T: 01/585 13 15
• E: maja.oven@btc.si