Top cruise line Virgin Voyages has announced that its users can now pay for their trips with Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. This makes the cruise line the first in its industry to adopt such a payment option for its service.
Virgin Voyages Gives Passengers Flexible Payment Option
As reported by Travel Weekly, Virgin Voyages launched an “Annual Pass” that gives passengers the opportunity to “hop onto any ship, anytime, from anywhere—for an entire calendar year.” This annual pass costs as much as £94,689, which is approximately $120,000, excluding taxes and fees. It is available on a first-come, first-served basis until March 31, 2025.
Once this fare is paid, a passenger has successfully secured a spot on a sea terrace, and it is valid for an entire year. Markedly, travel agents can earn up to £7,890 ($10,000) in commission for selling the annual pass. The introduction of Bitcoin payment option is aimed at making payments more flexible for passengers.
In addition, the Bitcoin embrace is Virgin Voyages’ way of embracing the future of finance.
The firm has made a proactive move in line with this Bitcoin adoption. It has updated its website to reflect the new Bitcoin payment option. Founded by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Voyages BTC adoption might open up other related businesses to make similar moves.
Institutional Investors Shows Confidence in Bitcoin
To a large extent, this year has marked many firsts for BTC, from the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs to hitting a new All-time-high (ATH).
It is clear that institutional adoption of the flagship cryptocurrency has seen a notable surge. With top investment asset management firms like BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity and Grayscale in the spot crypto ETF niche, Bitcoin has grown its dominance as an investment asset.
As reported earlier, some BlackRock funds are investing in IBIT, a showcase of growing institutional appetite for the coin.
On one hand, business intelligence and software company MicroStrategy has consistently purchased Bitcoin. This underscores confidence in the coin and its future potential.
Earlier this week, the Michael Saylor-led firm bought 15,400 BTC for $1.5 billion at an average price of $95,976 per Bitcoin. So far, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holding has reached 402,100 BTC, accounting for over 1.2% of the coin’s total supply
In the meantime, Bitcoin price has registered some fluctuations including some flash crash. At the time of this writing, the coin traded at $95,697.11, corresponding with a 0.25% increase in the last 24 hours.
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