Shanghai’s Jing'an District issues blockchain-based discount coupons

The Jing’an District of Shanghai has started offering blockchain-based discount coupons. 

Local news outlet Shine reported that the district will issue the coupons using one of WeChat’s mini-programs operated by the Jing’an Culture and Tourism Bureau. 

WeChat mini-programs are smaller sub-applications built within the WeChat ecosystem to offer several online services like e-commerce, music and video streaming and translation. 

The tourism bureau has integrated blockchain to their WeChat mini-program to adjust the number of coupons in circulation and the validity period of each of these by analyzing how people are using them. The mini-program will send out new coupons daily.

The value of each blockchain-based coupon will vary between 5 yuan ($0.73) to 60 yuan ($8.80).

Employees, students and other residents of the district will be able to obtain the coupons using the WeChat mini-program. They can then redeem them at the movies, theater performances and for online courses.

Users will be able to use the coupons at venues including the Hubei Movie Theater, the IV Movie Theater, the Majestic Theater and the Shanghai-based online radio platform Ximalaya.

The director of the tourism bureau Chen Hong said they were also working with Ximalaya to encourage more people to use the coupons to buy online courses and digital books as more people turn to the internet for entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic.