Cryptocurrency ATMs to buy bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, popping up in suburban shopping malls
He said installing ATMs in mainstream locations and offering 24-hour service attracted customers who were new to investing in cryptocurrency.
“Crypto can be intimidating and if you take it out of the cloud and put it in a shopping centre … it’s more accessible to people,” Weiss said. “We think it’s important for there to be as many avenues for people to buy crypto as possible.”
The cryptocurrency sector had a wild ride last year, including the collapse of the terraUSD stablecoin in May and the November bankruptcy of Bahamas-based FTX. The price of bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, slumped last year in what was dubbed the “cryptowinter”, but has rallied since January.
The Commonwealth Bank recently reported that Australians were undeterred by the volatility and continued to invest in cryptocurrencies throughout 2022, a trend that has alarmed some financial experts because of the risk consumers could lose their money.
A spokesperson for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said cryptocurrencies were “highly volatile, inherently risky, and complex” and people must be prepared to lose what they invest.
The federal government is considering regulating some cryptocurrencies as financial products.
Loading
Austrac regulates digital currency exchange providers, including providers of cryptocurrency ATMs. An earlier attempt to build a network of crypto ATMs under the Auscoin brand ended in 2019 when Austrac suspended the company’s licence.
Weiss said people were attracted to cryptocurrency because they were worried about inflation and the economy and did not trust banks.
When a customer uses an Olliv ATM, they must upload their identification documents and click through several pages of warnings about potential scams, including romance scams and calls purporting to be from the Tax Office or eBay asking for payments. Weiss said this used real examples, but added that scams were more common in the rest of the financial system.
The machines are hosted in shopping centres, newsagencies, convenience stores and petrol stations across all states and territories. About 40 of the Olliv machines also allow withdrawals.
Loading
Newsagents Association secretary Ian Booth said the host business typically received between $250 and $400 a month in rent for hosting the ATMs. Newsagents could also accept payments for cryptocurrency deposits over the counter in the same way as deposits for a Ladbrokes gambling account.
Booth said cash payments catered to customers who did not want the transactions to appear on their bank statements.
A spokesperson for the Australian Tax Office said cryptocurrency transactions were usually subject to capital gains tax, and the ease of using crypto ATMs had made record keeping harder for some people.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
