Great news for Norwegian crypto-enthusiasts, Norway acquired its first Btm (Bitcoin ATM).Currently there is only one BTM, located at the co working space ''The hub'' which is at Alexander Kiellands plass in Oslo (Google maps here). The company behind the project is called Mikrobank and the people behind it plan to have more BTM's in Norway in the course of 2017.
For the time being it is possible to buy cryptocurrency but not sell back, although according to the Mikrobank folks that option will be available probably within the year, apparently there is a dialog going on between them and the tax authorities of Norway.
The BTM.On the upper right corner of the touch screen stand the exchange rates.
It's interesting to note that one can buy also altcoins from the btm (Litecoin for now, maybe more options in the future).Keep in mind that you''ll need cash in hand to buy the cryptocurrency of your choice (200 nok and 500 nok banknotes are accepted).
No registration is required.
Buying 200 nok worth of bitcoin will bring 189.5 nok of actual bitcoin in your wallet.
That means the fees are around 5,25 %.
The process of purchasing Bitcoin is pretty straight forward, tap you language and cryptocurrency choice on the touch screen, have your QR code scanned, put in the banknotes, click buy/done and that's it.Here is a video of an identical BTM in use:
The whole process takes less than a minute
Will we see an increased Bitcoin acceptance in Norwegian and Scandinavian businesses ?
Will the Bitcoin become more known with the help of BTM's ? That remains to be seen.
I would definitely hope to see more BTM's in popular places like malls, transport hubs, airports etc.
Hopefully 2017 will be an exciting and important year in the mainstream acceptance concept.
Have you ever used a BTM ? Whats is your opinion on the whole concept ?
Feel free to comment below & resteem!
The opening hours of the Btm location, according to the Mikrobank website is 07:00-22:00 on weekdays and 07:00-20:00 on saturdays, although those hours depend on the working hours of 'the hub'.