Meltdown Comics

Hollywood-based Meltdown Comics has joined the list of small business accepting bitcoins this past Thursday.

Although comic books have been sold online for digital currency before, Meltdown Comics is the first to accept bitcoins at a physical storefront. They took to twitter to write:

A longtime customer and correspondent of Spelunk.in made the first bitcoin purchase, and even went back to the comic store for another transaction.

General manager of Meltdown Comics, Francisco Dominguez told Spelunk in an interview that hopes bitcoin impacts businesses in a positive light.

Dominguez talked about how small mom/pop comic shops are closing their doors due to sales of downloadable digital comics. He hopes that bitcoin will prevent his business from going under. Francisco is even willing to give customers that use bitcoin at his shop a discount and invite them to special events. Dominguez says to Spelunk:

“We at Meltdown like technology and like to move with it when possible.”

The business continues to try and make customers come visit the store in person, rather than download digital copies online. Meltdown Comics was established in 1993, and celebrated their 20-year anniversary last year.

Meltdown’s Relation to Shia Labeouf

The first bitcoin transaction at the comic book store was for a copy of “The Death-Ray” by Daniel Clowes. Clowes has been making waves in headlines as of late for accusations of plagiarism against actor Shia LaBeouf. Labeouf’s short 12-minute film was criticized by the internet for its resemblance to Clowes’ “Ghost World” and other graphic stories.

Labeouf later apologized to Clowes, but did so once again by using an apology he got off Yahoo.

Small Businesses Like Bitcoin

Other small businesses have taken a liking to accepting bitcoin, in hopes of enriching their customer base. A newsstand in New York City began welcoming bitcoin payments as a way to grow with always-changing technologies. The owner of the stand, Kay, takes bitcoins, but refuses to accept credit cards.

In addition, Los Angeles’ Wynn Nail Spa also started accepting bitcoin. A sign in front of the shop reads:

“Get pampered at Wynn Nail Spa. We Accept Bitcoin.”

Bitcoins popularity continues to increase with the support of small businesses, as they are safe and easy to use while lacking middleman fees.

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