The Association of Small and Medium Merchants of Torrevieja (APYMECO) has proposed to advance in the adoption of new technologies and the digitalisation of the local productive fabric as a way to boost commerce and continue contributing to local economic development.
Through an ambitious project that will be developed in several phases, in collaboration with the Council’s Department of Commerce, the aim is to turn Torrevieja into the first “crypto friendly” city using blockchain technology to digitise commerce.
The first phase will focus on promoting commerce through the use of cryptocurrencies as a transactional medium, seeking to allow the payment of products and services with cryptocurrencies and other cryptoassets between consumers and businesses.
The second phase will focus on generating a positive impact on the environment, focusing on sustainability as the main objective, seeking the recovery of natural spaces. The third phase will seek to enhance employability and business promotion in the city, promoting the creation of new jobs and financing for companies in the technology sector.
The Councillor for Commerce, Rosario Martínez Chazarra, has positively valued this initiative of the merchants’ association, which will enhance and modernise purchases in our local businesses and will be another incentive for those people who have cryptocurrencies. Likewise, Martínez Chazarra has indicated that the Torrevieja Council plans to collaborate with APYMECO in training through courses for merchants who participate in this initiative jointly with the University of Alicante (UA), through its departments specialised in economic and business issues.
For his part, the president of APYMECO, Jorge Almarcha, wanted to highlight the social and economic impact that this digitalisation will mean for Torrevieja, ensuring that “in Spain, since 2015, it has been legal to be able to pay with cryptocurrencies. However, it has not been until today that there has been a desire to democratise its use as a means of payment in standard, neighbourhood, traditional commerce. The message we want to convey is very clear: we want people to invest in Torrevieja, we want them to spend it in Torrevieja and we want them to get to know Torrevieja. We have always worked to place cutting-edge tools in our business and we have created trends. We have demonstrated it with the Consumption Bonus thanks to the firm commitment of the Torrevieja Council, whose management model has been replicated throughout the Valencian Community and we are going to demonstrate it with this unprecedented ambitious project that aims to attract wealth and help promote a professional sector, such as ICT.”
APYMECO has published on its website a pre-registration form for establishments that want to take advantage of the digitalisation process from its first phase to charge with cryptocurrencies in their businesses.
In 2023, a report by IDC stated that 11% of businesses in Spain have adopted blockchain technology. Although data fluctuates, Russia is cited as one of the most popular countries using crypto, along with Nigeria, and China.
