Topic: [2017-08-05] 150 Bitcoin ATMs Coming to Ukraine (Read 4896 times)

This launch of BATM's is planned by kuna.io as part of their ICO roadmap (other steps include some Visa BTC cards and IaaP project). I'm personally a bit skeptic about ICO's in general, but these BATM's seem to be a real thing, here's their video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh-vJYLf_0A
They plan to launch 20-30 BATM's in Kiev in this month, and increase think that this number can be increased to 150 by the end of the year.
As for fees, they should be equal to fees of their exchange, which is 1% for fiat deposits and 0.0001 BTC for BTC withdrawals.

I know that Ukraine is having a high adoption of Bitcoin. But even then, I need to ask a few questions. Isn't it better to start with two or three Bitcoin ATMs first and then expand it to 150? Also, few people are using Bitcoin ATMs nowadays due to the high fees.

BATM's are not profitable at all due to the lack of actual usage and need for personal verification. However, in this case, as the article points out, there is no verification required, which makes things a little bit different. In general, if you try to install BATM's in modern European countries, you are subject to all sorts of laws and policies, which will not allow you to get away with offering such a service without any sort of verification. In most countries it's simply illegal to offer any sort of service that involves fiat transactions, if you as business aren't licensed. I am not exactly aware of the laws in Ukraine, but it seems that you can pull it off there, but that will definitely not be the case in most of the other countries. It's not for nothing that the authorities are going nuts on unlicensed exchanges and services lately.

Fake news always exist...
Let's hope this bitcoin ATM will see the light and will be a success in order to have other countries to follow this model..

Let's hope that this is not just another fake news that while can create some excitement for Bitcoin may ended up only with some disappointments. Well, that fake news you talked about here is centered on the Middle East while the original post is talking about Ukraine which may have a better rate of Bitcoin adoption and a lax business environment.

Anyway, I am sure that a Bitcoin ATM operation can be profitable and am hoping that more and more business entities would look into this good opportunity of being in the forefront of the cryptocurrency revolution. Europe is a big market for Bitcoin and there is always that unexploited market for it as more and more people are getting aware of the currency.

Lol.. This reminds me of the ridiculous fake news which I read a few years back, which claimed that there are going to be 400 Bitcoin ATMs operational in the United Arab Emirates by 2015. Two and half years have passed after that, and still they don't even have a single Bitcoin ATM there. Here is the link:

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/dubai-400-bitcoin-atms/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/20pyro/dubai_gets_400_bitcoinatms_in_two_weeks/

150 Bitcoin ATMs will be installed in Ukraine this year, including 20-30 machines set to be installed on the streets of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine, by the end of the summer.

Approximately 20-30 Cryptomat Bitcoin ATMs (BTMs) will be installed in Kiev by the end of the summer, Michael Chobanian, founder of Kuna Bitcoin Agency and Kuna Cryptocurrency Exchange, told UBR this week. He also said:

        "By the end of the year, around 150 Bitcoin ATMs will be installed throughout Ukraine. This is at the request of one customer who contacted us. Plus, there is a constant demand from entrepreneurs across Ukraine who want to engage in this business, that is, buy terminals and sell cryptocurrencies."

Currently, there is only one BTM in Ukraine shown on Coinatmradar, a website that tracks BTMs globally. This 2-way BTM was installed in late April and is located in Odessa, a port city on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. It is the first BTM in the country, according to UBR.

Other than this BTM, there are approximately 4,000 street terminals that reportedly sell bitcoin, the bitcoin service provider BTCU announced in 2014. They are not BTMs but customers can buy vouchers from them to redeem for bitcoin on the BTCU website.

The 150 Cryptomat BTMs to be installed later this year support the sale of bitcoin, ether, waves, and golos, according to its website. In addition, “unlike many competitors, Cryptomat does not require user identification.” Ukrainians will be able to purchase cryptocurrencies using the hryvnia, Chobanian detailed.

He also explained that anyone can get into the Bitcoin ATM business. “There is no need to obtain any licenses for this activity,” he detailed, citing the lack of cryptocurrency regulations in Ukraine. “No one gets licenses for coffee machine businesses. This is the beauty of Ukraine,” UBR quoted him saying.

Do you think bitcoin adoption will increase in Ukraine with all these BTMs?

Continue reading
https://news.bitcoin.com/150-bitcoin-atms-ukraine/