Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some global events have chosen to move forward as planned. Instead of canceling, they are working to limit close contact between attendees through the introduction of new technologies. One such solution involves a cashless payment system powered by blockchain.
Mystic Valley, one the largest music festivals in Thailand, will be issuing its own token for cashless payments during its upcoming three-day event.
According to a Thursday announcement, Mystic Valley organizers partnered with local cryptocurrency exchange Bitazza and blockchain startup Fuse.io to mint its own crypto token, MYST.
The new token is designed to provide all financial transactions at the festival including payments made to food and drink vendors and merchandisers. The event is scheduled to run from Nov. 27 to Nov. 29 at the Mountain Creek Golf Resort in Khao Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima.
According to the announcement, MYST is intended to eliminate the need for paper money, resulting in a smoother, safer experience for attendees and vendors.
The new cashless payment system is also expected to reduce costly fees charged by major point-of-sale systems. “Network’s $0.01 transaction makes the implementation of cashless payments accessible to any kind of event organizer at [a] fraction of the cost,” the announcement notes.
A spokesperson for the event told Cointelegraph that users will be able to exchange the unused amount of MYST tokens for fiat. “Then they will get a cash or wire transfer refund,” the person added.
Alongside providing a cashless payment system, Mystic Valley also allows attendees to buy their tickets with major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and the stablecoin Tether (USDT), the announcement notes.
The music industry has been closely tied with crypto in recent years. Audius, a Binance-backed decentralized music sharing service, distributed $8 million in governance tokens to musicians and listeners on its platform in late October. In late September, French DJ David Guetta secured a deal with crypto-focused virtual reality platform Sensorium Galaxy.