First bitcoin payment made at Ljubljana's BTC

LJUBLJANA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Ljubljana's shopping and commercial district BTC City launched a test phase of a blockchain-based payment system on Wednesday with the first cryptocurrency payment in the offline world in Slovenia, said the national official media STA.

According to the report by Slovenian Press Agency (STA), the test bitcoin payment was made at the Atlantic Water Park by BTC chairman Joze Mermal and co-founders of the Eligma platform Dejan Roljic and Matej Gregorcic.

The payment was made through Elipay, a cryptocurrency payment system that currently allows test bitcoin and bitcoin cash payments and transfers, but will in the future also support other cryptocurrencies.

Citing a press release from BTC, the STA report said the Atlantis Water Park will soon be followed by other providers of goods and services at the shopping district, while by the end of the year, more than 100 outlets are expected to accept cryptocurrency payments.

The STA report also listed those partners using the cryptocurrency payment system at the initial test phase.

The Elipay system is a key feature of Cyptocu, a platform based on artificial intelligence and blockchain technology that has been developed by the company with the same name, the STA report explained.

The company was incorporated a few months ago by BTC and a group of young experts. Eligma and its startup company BTC Phoenix will develop technologically advanced solutions for BTC City customers.

"We are responding to the expectations of future generations today with the development of a Bitcoin City," Mermal said, adding that in partnership with Eligma BTC could develop one of Europe's most powerful blockchain-based technologies.

Slovenia has said that it would make more efforts to maintain its previous pioneer status in the blockchain applications, a controversial emerging information technology fields.