While Amazon recently shut down rumors about accepting cryptocurrencies, Xiaomi picked up the slack.
Mi Store Portugal, the official retailer of the Chinese tech behemoth, recently moved to enable cryptocurrency payments.
It is now possible to buy smartphones, vacuum cleaners, smartwatches, electric scooters and other Xiaomi devices with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and Dash.
In order to add support for digital assets, Xiaomi has partnered with Swiss cryptocurrency payment service provider Utrust, whose native token is also accepted by Mi Store Portugal.
Pedro Maia, head of marketing at Mi Store Portugal, says that Xiaomi—which recently surpassed Apple in the smartphone market—strives to live up to its motto of delivering “innovation for everyone” with its move into crypto:
We are a technological, innovative and disruptive brand. That's why we always want to be one step ahead. We want to give the possibility to all true technology fans to buy their favorite gadgets with what is currently “the most technological money.”
It is not surprising that Xiaomi has picked Portugal as a testbed for digital asset payments given that it is considered to be the most crypto-friendly nation in Europe because of its tax policy.
Samsung, the leader in the smartphone market, debuted a blockchain wallet in early 2019, but its stores are yet to embrace crypto.