Mall of America to Showcase Winklevoss-Backed Crypto Payments

Cryptocurrency is coming to the Mall of America.

Flexa, a startup making it easier to use crypto for purchases in the real world, will be an advisory participant in a new demonstration store at America’s largest mall, which is located outside Minneapolis, Minn.

The store, meant to showcase new brands and technologies for enhancing the retail experience, is being organized by management consulting firm McKinsey.

“The big thing for us is showing that cryptocurrency is an extremely legitimate if not the best form of digital payment,” Flexa CEO Tyler Spalding told CoinDesk in an interview, adding:

“This is going to show the legitimacy of how this stuff works.”

The store – called Modern Retail Collective – will test out retail technology under real conditions. Starting Friday morning, the goal will be to help retailers understand which new technologies really add value. With some 8,000 U.S. brick-and-mortar stores closing this year alone, according to a…