COLON, MI — Five Star Pizza is now accepting Bitcoin at its flagship location in Colon, Michigan.
Five Star Pizza is the first pizzeria in the region to accept Bitcoin Lightning payments, according to a press release from Detroit-based startup MI Lightning Rod.
Owner Carl Thornton said that he was inspired by the impact of Bitcoin he observed in El Salvador, where the cryptocurrency was adopted as legal tender in 2021.
“I’ve seen what Bitcoin means for freedom, what it can do for the third world and tens of millions that are unbanked,” Thornton said. “It may be the greatest technology advance since the internet. I want to try and do my part to move the ball forward.”
MI Lightning Rod co-founder Eric Poliner said the startup aims to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions between businesses and customers in what he said is the true spirit of Bitcoin.
“What we’re after is trying to bring out like the actual intention of Bitcoin to be something that people use in their day to day lives,” Poliner said.
MI Lightening Rod’s product, Bitcoin Lightning, is a business software that allows customers to pay for products using cryptocurrency. It works like point of sale software that many businesses already use, providing customers the option to pay with cash, card or Bitcoin by scanning a QR code.
Poliner said the startup is realistic about its goals, noting that Bitcoin is not going to be the main mode of payment “for a while.” Still, he aims to make it an option for businesses.
“We’re targeting something for business that’s a little busier, that needs a little bit more management tools,” Poliner said.
Poliner said through the work of MI Lightening Rod and other entrepreneurs, he believes Bitcoin can change the economy and benefit users due to the technology’s low fees, rapid settlement and international reach.
“The dream would be restaurants accepting this, and then having a farmer who accepts it, and the restaurant passes along the value that they got through Bitcoin to a farmer, and the farmer passes it along and it just keeps going.”
Thornton said he hopes to see more businesses adopt Bitcoin as a method of payment, and to connect more people interested in using cryptocurrency with one another.
“I want to foster adoption of it,” Thornton said. “I would like to get my other stores going, right now I’m just gonna start with one and see what we could do.”
MI Lightening Rod and Five Star Pizza celebrated the businesses’ first Bitcoin transaction on Saturday, Oct. 21. Poliner said that others interested in Bitcoin, and pizza, came from across the state to swap ideas and enjoy a slice.
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