4000 new crypto-compatible ATMs will be installed across Argentina in the near future, Sebastian Ponceliz, the CEO of Odyssey Group revealed to the local edition of Infobae.com.
Recently the Central Bank of the Argentina (BCRA) accepted Bitcoin Automatic Teller Machines into the country and Odyssey Group decided to seize the market. Ponceliz mentioned that ATMs can be used to both exchange digital money into fiat parity as well as receive a microcredit (credit card). ATMs will operate under a face recognition technology.
Odyssey installed over 250 of these machines across Argentina in October, 2017. Now the company states that it “has pre-agreements to install 4000 ATMs with an increase to 5000 within two years, but that is only a small part of the Central Bank’s expected 30000 new machines throughout the country.”
Each of the ATMs comes with a rather hefty price tag of $8500. Odyssey Group expects to return the investment within six months. The ATM charge is not disclosed. These crypto ATMs allow two-way exchange of bitcoin (BTC.EXANTE), ethereum (ETH/USD.BITFINEX) and litecoin (LTC/USD.BITFINEX).
Crypto-compatible ATMs are beginning to pop up in other parts of the world as well. According to Coinatmradar, there are 2893 Bitcoin ATMs installed in 66 countries. About 43% of them support various altcoins in addition to bitcoin.
By Julia Koshkina