Multinational retail corporation Walmart announced the installation of 200 pilot Bitcoin ATMs across the United States. For this initiative, the company is partnering with coin-cashing machine company Coinstar and crypto-cash exchange Coinme. Furthermore, Walmart says the eventual plan is to ramp up the number to about 8,000 BTC ATMs total.
Sam Doctor, chief strategy officer and head of research at BitOoda, explained to Bloomberg that the initiative was commendable but not a novelty. According to Doctor, there are already several BTC ATMs dispersed throughout many supermarkets. Walmart launching its own BTC ATMs provides more access to the service and underscores its legitimacy. As Doctor put it:
“Walmart expands Bitcoin access to more people, though, and gives it further legitimacy among skeptics, should they roll it out beyond an initial pilot.”
Coin ATM Radar states that there are currently more than 25,000 Bitcoin ATMs scattered across select venues in the United States, including grocery stores and service stations. Furthermore, Walmart’s co-partner Coinstar already operates 4,400 kiosks enabled for BTC purchases across 33 states.
Customers use the BTC ATM by inserting a banknote and receiving a paper voucher which has a redemption code. Users must then set up a Coinme account and complete a background check to redeem this code. Furthermore, users cannot withdraw BTC from their accounts if there are no plans for future functionality usage.
Image Credits: Pixabay
