Cryptocurrency in cinemas

AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) is set to start accepting bitcoins in cinemas to appeal to an army of Reddit investors who have backed the company's stock price, The Wall Street Journal reports.

CEO Adam Aron used the company's earnings report to generate sympathy from its new shareholders thousands of stock market enthusiasts who have boosted AMC stock to record highs.

Adam Aron announced that the company would begin accepting bitcoins at points of sale in the US by the end of the year, citing the investor community's enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency, and said that AMC was opening new points thanks to the support of its supporters.

Last year, blockchain and bandwidth restrictions brought the cinema chain to the brink of bankruptcy. Now AMC is "going on the offensive", Mr Aron said, buoyed by the enthusiasm of retail investors and the return of audiences to cinemas.

AMC's revenues rose sharply in the second quarter from the first three months of the year to $444.7 million, up from $18.9 million a year earlier. Losses decreased as well. AMC recorded a net loss of $344 million compared to a loss of $561.2 million in the same period in 2020. Net loss per share was 71 cents per share, an improvement from a loss of $5.38 per share a year ago.