The largest Bitcoin kiosk network in the world is adding new locations in major metro markets including Austin, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle and the District of Columbia. The roll-out is part of a massive expansion by Coinme, a blockchain fintech company that enables people to buy Bitcoin. In collaboration with coin-counting kiosk leader Coinstar, the crypto network now spans across 23 states in the US.
The companies first partnered in January to launch the Bitcoin-enabled kiosks in select locations at major US supermarkets, Albertsons and Safeway, across Washington, California and Texas.
Additional retailers include Shaw’s, Lucky, Acme, Jewel, Woods Supermarkets, Randalls and Strack & Van Til with certain kiosks located in shopping districts and malls such as the Northridge Fashion Center in Los Angeles, the Town Center at Aurora, Towne West Square in Wichita, Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque and Spokane Valley Mall.
Coinme CEO Neil Bergquist says the growth has been rapid at 15% week over week.
Says Jim Gaherity, Coinstar CEO,
“The response to being able to purchase Bitcoin at Coinstar kiosks has been extremely positive with overwhelming demand by both consumers and new retailer partners.”
To make a BTC purchase, customers find a select Coinstar kiosk, touch “Buy Bitcoin,” review and accept the transaction terms, and enter a phone number. They then insert the exact amount of US dollars into the cash acceptor – up to $2,500. The kiosk issues a voucher with a Bitcoin redemption code. The transaction is complete once the user visits coinme.com/redeem and either signs into an existing account or creates a new account to claim the Bitcoin purchase. The BTC is deposited into the user’s Coinme wallet within 10-30 minutes, minus a 4% service fee.
Coinme has built a vertically-integrated network of crypto ATMs, digital wallet, and private client services, reportedly processing millions of dollars each month, according to the official announcement, with the first quarter of 2019 leading the company’s five-year history, with 38% growth in user acquisition, 92% gains in transactions volume, and 109% growth in transactions processed compared to the first quarter of 2018.
As Coinme and Coinstar push for the adoption of cryptocurrencies, bringing kiosks and Bitcoin directly to mainstream shoppers, they’re planning to expand the Bitcoin kiosk network into new markets in the coming months.
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