Skip to main content

Cryptocurrency ATM Boom Comes to Colombia

colombia

While Colombia is not a country that has embraced cryptocurrencies compared to Venezuela or some African countries, it is the country with the second most cryptocurrency ATMs in the Latam region. The reason behind this could be that Colombia has a high percentage of cash usage. This makes cryptocurrency ATMs a very important tool for adoption in the country.

Colombia, Crypto ATM Haven

There is a cryptocurrency ATM boom going on in Colombia right now, being this is the country that hosts the second-highest number of these ATMs in the region. Columbia was in first place until not so long ago, before El Salvador made its bitcoin bet and declared the leading cryptocurrency legal tender. Currently, there are 50 cryptocurrency ATMs in Colombia, but the reasons for this boom are still not clear to some.

Colombia has not been especially known for its cryptocurrency adoption, and its involvement with cryptocurrencies at a government level was limited to a regulatory sandbox that exchanges are running with banks. However, there seems to be an increasing interest by cryptocurrency ATM companies in offering their services there. This might have to do with the close proximity to Venezuela and the vibrant commercial exchange that happens between these two countries.

About this, Alejandro Beltrán, CEO of Buda, a Latam-based exchange, told Forbes:

Colombia continues to be an important crypto hub in transactionality, and as Venezuela is in the top 3 in the global adoption index, the border position makes ATM systems good alternatives for consumers.

Numbers and Explanations

The cryptocurrency ATMs are concentrated mostly in the capital of the country, Bogota, where there are 29. Six are located in Medellín, three in Bucaramanga and Pereira, with the remaining ones being scattered throughout other locations. This clearly shows that most crypto ATMs are concentrated in city areas, away from the borders. This fact seems to rule out transactionality between countries as an important driving force behind the ATM push. However, Beltran has another theory about this boom.

Colombia is one of the leading countries for cash use in the region, and these ATMs aid customers in managing and transacting funds that would be impossible to do use efficiently with the current limitations of the banking sector in the country. To conclude, Beltran stated:

We believe that this can be one of the great contributions of the sector so that the ecosystem continues to grow in a vertical way.

What do you think about the cryptocurrency ATM boom in Colombia? Tell us in the comments section below.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/3m8eXRW

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mt Gox Creditors Updated, Trustee Says Rehabilitation Custodian Is ‘Currently Preparing to Make Repayments’

On August 31, 2022, the Mt Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi explained in a recent letter that the rehabilitation custodian is “currently preparing to make repayments” to Mt Gox creditors. Trustee Updates Mt Gox Creditors — Repayment Date and Exchange Still Unknown Last week speculation and rumors concerning the release of 140K bitcoin ( BTC ) from Mt Gox littered social media platforms and headlines. Bitcoin.com News covered the situation six days ago as a number of people and Mt Gox creditors called the rumors “ fake news .” During that same period of time, a bitcoin whale transferred 10,000 BTC to unknown wallets, and a 2018 annotation , heuristics, and clustering methods show the funds likely originated from the June 2011 Mt Gox hacks. Following the mysterious whale transfer, last Wednesday, Mt Gox published an official update from the court trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi that explains the court is “currently preparing to make repayments” to creditors. Mt Gox creditors have been wait...

Fidelity Discusses Bitcoin as Portfolio Insurance — Could Soon Stand in ‘Stark Contrast’ to Path Fiat Currencies Take

Fidelity Digital Assets, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, says that bitcoin could be considered portfolio insurance. The firm notes that the cryptocurrency “may soon stand in stark contrast to the path that the rest of the world and fiat currencies may take — namely the path of increased supply, additional currency creation, and central bank balance sheet expansion.” Fidelity Says Bitcoin Could Be Portfolio Insurance Fidelity Digital Assets, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, recently published a research study titled “The Rising Dollar and Bitcoin.” The research outlines “how bitcoin could be considered portfolio insurance” as the rising dollar impacts global currency markets. “The strengthening U.S. dollar is wreaking havoc among other countries and may put pressure on the Federal Reserve to soon reverse its tightening monetary actions, something that has precedent based on 1985’s Plaza Accord,” Fidelity explained. In addition, “more monetary debasement may be needed to ...

Economists Discuss Russia, China Potentially Developing Gold-Backed Currency That Could Undermine US Dollar

Economists have weighed in on reports that China and Russia may be developing a new gold-backed currency that could undermine the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency. Russia and China May Be Developing Gold-Backed Currency Several experts have shared their views on Russia and China potentially creating a new gold-baked currency, Fox Business reported Saturday, emphasizing that China has been buying up huge quantities of gold while Russia was forced off the U.S. dollar due to sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine. The news outlet noted that some experts have cautioned that these moves, along with the closer relationship that has developed between Moscow and Beijing, point to the likelihood of China attempting to launch a gold-backed currency. However, neither Russia nor China has officially confirmed plans for such a currency. Craig Singleton, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former U.S. diplomat,...