Emart24 announced earlier this month they will launch a limited Bitcoin meal box. A total of 30,000 meal boxes will be for sale from the end of May. This little Bitcoin stunt is in collaboration with Bithumb, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in Korea with a 25 percent market share. Let’s take a look at what this campaign means for the Bitcoin space.
To start with the meal box itself. They contain omelet rice, meatballs, and.. just kidding, no one cares. What matters is that they cost 5900 KRW, and if you follow the instructions found in the box you will receive 10.000 KRW worth in bitcoin. That leaves you with a 4100 KRW profit and no capital gains. A whopping 69% ROI (Not financial advice).
NongHyup Bank, the country’s 3rd largest bank, also joins in on the hype. They will reward you an additional 20.000 KRW if you create a bank account with them and use it as an on- and off-ramp for your Bitcoin transactions. The only work you have to do is try to get a hold of a meal box. As of late 2023, Emart24 operates close to 6700 stores nationwide. That’s a mere 4.4 meal boxes per store. That could be a challenge.
Motivations for a Bitcoin meal box
So is there any merit to Emart24 (Shinsegae group), Bithumb, and NongHyup Bank collaborating on a Bitcoin campaign, or is it just as gimmicky as it looks? Bithumb just wants you to use its platform to do your Bitcoin transactions so they can gain market share from Upbit and earn money from fees. There is nothing new there and has zero impact on the Bitcoin space.
Similarly, NongHyup Bank wants you to use their bank to increase their assets under management and earn money on fees. What’s different here though is that the 3rd largest bank in Korea effectively is giving the green light to Bitcoin. Worldwide there have been several instances of banks blocking on- and off-ramps to cryptocurrency exchanges, and even closed bank accounts for transferring money to them. So to me, this is a positive development.
Emart, at the end of the day, is just a distributor of meal boxes. For them, there is no Bitcoin involved in the whole process other than that it’s printed on the packaging. I don’t believe they care about Bitcoin at all yet. If they did, they would at least let customers pay for the meal box through one of Bitcoin's second layers, the lightning channel, which is used for small payments.
The lunch boxes won’t be sold until the end of May. Maybe we will hear more details later. Though with the information out now the whole marketing campaign seems a little disappointing. It’s a sign-up bonus these kinds of platforms do all the time, but this time through a meal box. It’s very uninspired and gimmicky.
Impact on the Bitcoin space
Nevertheless, it's a significant step forward to see the 3rd largest bank in Korea openly embracing Bitcoin. When I opened my first bank account at a different bank, the clerk told me I was not allowed to use it for buying Bitcoin at the time. Moreover, the 4th largest convenience store, which is part of the country’s leading retail conglomerate, exposing its clients to Bitcoin is a big step towards normalization.
As a passionate Bitcoiner, I would have loved to see a more creative campaign that would have shown signs of genuine interest and understanding of Bitcoin. However, we’re still in the early stages of Bitcoin adoption. This promotion may not be groundbreaking, but it is still a net positive for the space. That’s why I will be roaming emart24’s to find one later this month.
