5,000 Bitcoin ATMs Add Cash-Out Option: Libertyx Sees Strong Adoption

 

Libertyx has added a cash-out option to its 5,000 bitcoin ATMs. The CEO says this addition triples the number of bitcoin ATMs that allow users to cash out their bitcoin. He shares his business model with news.Bitcoin.com, providing insight into the bitcoin ATM usage trends he is seeing.

5,000 Bitcoin ATMs Now With Cash-Out Option

Bitcoin ATM operator Libertyx announced Monday that 5,000 ATMs in its network now allow users to cash out their bitcoin. Besides the vast network of bitcoin ATMs (BTMs) in the U.S., Libertyx allows customers to buy bitcoin at 20,000 convenient stores, including 7-Eleven, CVS, and Rite Aid.

“While it’s never been easier to buy bitcoin, selling is another story,” said Libertyx CEO Chris Yim. He elaborated:

There are almost 15,000 bitcoin ATMs across the U.S., but fewer than 2,000 allow consumers to sell bitcoin for cash … Our ‘cash-out’ product deployed across 5,000 ATMs triples the number of bitcoin ATMs where consumers can sell bitcoin.

Yim confirmed to news.Bitcoin.com on Tuesday that “there is no longer a waitlist” for buying bitcoin at 20,000 chain stores, including 7-Eleven, CVS, and Rite Aid. “We’re extending the 0% conversion fee promotion at chain retailers for the near future so the only fee is the $4.95 flat fee paid to the retailer,” he added.

The CEO also explained why his business model is different from other bitcoin ATM businesses. “The traditional BTM ROI doesn’t justify spending $10,000+ on a machine in a town of 15,000 people, but we’ve been able to tap into that underserved market with our ATM and chain retailer integrations,” he described. “Because we leverage existing hardware and infrastructure, our costs are much less than BTM operators (who need to buy $10,000+ kiosks and place them). Our fees range from 1.5% (CVS, Rite Aid) to 8% (debit card at ATM) which is lower than the BTM average of 12-20%.”

Yim further shared with news.Bitcoin.com: “With no interest earned at most banks, and a volatile stock and jobs market, there is increasing consumer appetite for an uncorrelated asset with a potential asymmetric ‘lottery ticket’ return profile. People aren’t putting their life savings in bitcoin, but rather dabbling, looking to have some exposure, and going from there.” He continued:

Customers usually buy $20-50 initially and get comfortable with wallets, confirmation times, etc. Then they come back and buy more … We continue to see increasing bitcoin demand across the country, and particularly strong adoption in the rural and suburban markets.

Libertyx’s bitcoin ATMs are not listed on the leading cryptocurrency ATM tracking website Coinatmradar, however. “They will only list kiosks that solely sell crypto and not ones that [offer] other services like traditional ATMs,” he explained. “They will only feature kiosks that accept cash. They have offered to list us under ‘Other Services’ but it’s not searchable or displayed by default in their locator.”

‘David Hasselhoff Invented Bitcoin’ - 9 Celebrities Wish Bitcoin a Happy Birthday

 

Ahead of the 12th anniversary of the Bitcoin white paper, a large group of celebrities published cameo videos saying “happy birthday” to the world’s first cryptocurrency. A number of popular stars appear in the videos including Charlie Sheen, David Hasselhoff, Carole Baskin, Gilbert Gottfried, and more.

• On Halloween, this Saturday, October 31, a great number of cryptocurrency advocates will be celebrating the day Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper.
• Satoshi Nakamoto published the paper, titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” on the website metzdowd.com on the cryptography mailing list.
• In anticipation of the 12 year anniversary, Halborn, the cybersecurity firm for blockchain companies produced a video with a great number of celebrities wishing Bitcoin a “happy birthday.”

• Celebrity cameos for the 12th-anniversary celebration include RZA, Hassan Johnson, Charlamagne Tha God, Soulja Boy, Doug Benson, Carole Baskin, Charlie Sheen, David Hasselhoff, and Gilbert Gottfried.
• Discussing the celebrity cameo birthday wishes to Bitcoin, Halborn cofounder Rob Behnke told news.Bitcoin.com that “Cybersecurity can be a somewhat dry industry that takes itself too seriously.”
• “At Halborn, when we’re not off working with clients or winning hackathons, we’re playing in our bands and goofing off,” Behnke added. “Having a bunch of celebs wish bitcoin a happy birthday? We did it for the Lolz.”
• Halborn’s cybersecurity clients include firms like Coinbase, IBM, AVA Labs, Bancor, Stellar, and Blockfi.
• “I want to send this out because Bitcoin turns 12, October 31st that’s on Halloween,” said the Wu-Tang Clan producer and rapper, RZA, during his cameo appearance. “Ya know Bitcoin was created by the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto doin his thang. I wanna say one thing about this— If you don’t know about it, you better know about it, because yo… at the end of the day scientists can create something son, but the value on everything is what we put on it. The Bitcoin revolution has started.”
• “Bitcoin was not invented by Satoshi Nakamoto,” David Hasselhoff said in his guest appearance video. “Bitcoin started with the Hoff… I, David Hasselhoff invented Bitcoin and I’m going to keep what I know about Bitcoin a secret,” the television and film star added.
• All nine celebrities can be seen in the compilation video below and individual cameos are hosted on Halborn’s website. It’s also very unlikely that the former Baywatch star is Satoshi Nakamoto.