ATMs could be Bitcoin's right angled turn to bring in mass adoption of the cryptocurrency
Image source: pixabay
It is no longer a cumbersome process to get Bitcoin in your pockets. Coinstar is helping to make the change go smoothly.
According to Fortune, Coinstar has set up ATM machines that are found in supermarkets across US to let people get rid of their spare change. With the latest partnership with Coinme, US Bitcoin ATM (BTM) operator, Coinstar's machines are also effectively the new BTMs.
“Coinstar is always looking for new ways to offer value to our consumers when they visit our kiosks, and Coinme’s innovative delivery mechanism along with Coinstar’s flexible platform makes it possible for consumers to easily purchase Bitcoin with cash,” said Jim Gaherity, Coinstar CEO, in a statement.
Source: Fortune
Image source: Coinstarwww.coinstar.com)
Coin counting kiosks owned by Coinstar can now offer up to US$2,500 worth of Bitcoin for purchase. Only a phone number is required to receive a redemption voucher with equivalent BTC value.
According to industry monitoring resource CoinATMRadar, there were 4187 known BTMs worldwide as of Friday, of which 2516 (about 60 percent) were in the U.S. Source: Cointelegraph
Coinstar owns 20,000 machine around the world and the partnership between Coinstar and Coinme will increase the number of BTMs up by 5 times.
We are also hearing news from Bitcoinist that the first Bitcoin ATM has arrived in Caracas, Venezuela.
“We are going to install the first cryptocurrency ATM in Venezuela over the course of the next two weeks,” Jorge Farias, CEO of Panama-based Cryptobuyer, told local radio and news media network, Union Radio, during an interview.
Source: Bitcoinist
Image source: Wikipedia
Over the past year, Venezuelans have been facing hyperinflation of the national currency, Venezuelan Bolivar. The introduction of the Government issued cryptocurrency, Petro, was meant to curb against US sanctions on the national currency. However the oil-pegged price of Petro, undermines its value.
As Bitcoinist suggests, the latest data from Coin Dance showed that the week ending January 5 was the second busiest on record for the Venezuelan Bolivar (VES) on Localbitcoins, with a total of 5.15 billion changing hands.
However, it seems that the peer-to-peer trading platform, LocalBitcoins, is no longer providing its service from inside Venezuela since 12 January.
It is unclear at this point whether the Bitcoin ATM would be fully operational. Personally I do hope that Bitcoin becomes a universal currency that can be used easily throughout all countries of the world.