Netcoins: what it is, and what we stand to gain by getting Steem listed

I'm sure you have all heard about the Netcoins contest by now, but if you haven't, check out one or more of these posts about it:

• Vote For STEEM To Get A Free Listing On NETCOINs & Win Oracle-D Upvotes by Hive account@oracle-d.
• STEEM Needs You! by Hive account@ned.
• Let's get STEEM listed on Netcoins by Hive account@drakos.
• Vote for STEEM to get listed on NETCOINS by Hive account@acidyo
• Let's get Steem on Netcoins exchange by Hive account@themarkymark

The short summary of these is that they all urge us Steem users to vote to get STEEM to the first place of the contest. This is great, but one thing I have noticed is that a lot of people don't really seem to know exactly what Netcoins is, which again means that they don't know exactly why it's important that we vote for Steem.

This post will take a closer look at what Netcoins is, and what it's not, and hopefully you will all understand why it's worth spending 20 seconds to vote every day for the next 3 days.

Netcoins; not really a traditional exchange

The biggest difference between Netcoins and an exchange is that it's rooted in physical locations. Their main product is something called a Netcoins Virtual Crypto ATM. This is a lot like a regular crypto ATM, but it's not a big physical machine that stands in the corner of a store. Instead it's a software that's located on a computer, a tablet, or even a phone.

This ATM is then installed into a store that already sells something else. This can be a convenience store, or any store that wish to also sell crypto to their customers.

So let's say that you want to but Steem with this virtual ATM (assuming we win). You head to one of the stores that offers a Netcoins Virtual Crypto ATM, and there you talk to the cashier and tell him/her which crypto you would like to pay. They will then fill out the form on the ATM for you, giving you an estimate of how much crypto you will get for the money you want to spend.

You pay the cash, and you will then either get the crypto sent to your wallet, or the ATM will create a new wallet for you. Your Steem is now ready to be transferred, powered up, or whatever you would like to do with it.

Netcoins Flexepin

Netcoins also offer another way to purchase crypto directly from stores, called the Flexepin. This is pretty much a voucher that you can buy in the stores with a code that allow you to redeem crypto when you get home to your computer. Think of it like when you buy a prepaid VISA or something like that.

Once you have the code, enter it at Netcoins' redemption website to get the crypto transferred to your wallet. This requires a little more knowledge from the users since they will need to create their own wallet, but I think most of us Steem users will be fine with this step anyway.

It's not a perfect system

I have been shilling Netcoins a lot now, so I think we should also take a small look at the "problems" or disadvantages to Netcoins compared to a traditional exchange. The big problem that would prevent me from ever really using them are the exchange rates. Just look at the rates taken from the Flexepin redemption site:

It's a pretty big loss for users who already know how to use real exchanges. I have not done any math on it, but it looks like a 50 % premium to me, which is a little too much to pay for the convenience of buying it in cash.

A lot of people might think otherwise though, and there's obviously a market for these virtual ATMs, it's just that I would probably not ever use it personally.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Virtual ATM is currently only operating in Canada, so it's great for Canadians, but not really that relevant for the rest of us.

The Flexepin system is a lot more broad, and I think you will be able to buy this in most parts of the world. Some parts of the world will have a very easy time finding a store that sells Flexepin codes, so it's potentially a quick way to buy some Steem.

What will happen if we win?

If we win, Steem will be added to one of the cryptocurrencies that is currently supported by Netcoins, making it the 17th cryptocurrency that uses this system.. This means that you can buy Steem directly from a store with a Netcoins Virtual Crypto ATM, or one that sells codes for Flexepin. How much of a real impact it will have on Steem and the price is yet to be seen, but there's definitely a few positive aspects of winning this:

• Media exposure from press releases sent out by Netcoins about the new crypto.
• Media exposure by websites that write about the contest itself.
• It will allow people without credits cards or bank accounts to buy Steem.

I don't think winning this will automatically trigger a bull run for Steem, but it might still have a positive impact on the price now that there's more places to buy it. But it looks like we might be winning, so we might just see firsthand what it does in the coming weeks. So keep voting and show the world that Steem is the altcoin with the biggest community backing it!

Thanks for stopping by

I hope you liked this post about Netcoins, and hopefully you have a better idea of what it is, and why we want to win. Will you try to buy Steem with the Virtual ATM or Flexepin codes if we win?