Colombia becomes the second country of Latin America with increased adoption of ATMs from bitcoin, Surpassed by The Savior, country that has chosen the BTC as legal tender.
The New Granada region has been venturing into this sector since 2017, and since then the consolidation of crypto ATMs in the region has been observed. The reasons for such a strong increase in ATM adoption could be several. One of the reasons for this success is because the government has decided to accept a cryptographic payment voucher and, on the other hand, that the Ministry of Information Technology of Colombia (Min TIC), has asked the public sector to adopt the technology Blockchain.
Although, it can be said that the country is already within the countries that adopt the use of cryptocurrencies, the general use and participation of these crypto assets at the government level is still incipient. However, this has not been a limitation for cryptocurrency ATM service companies to become increasingly interested in offering their services in the country.
In Colombia, there are around 50 cryptocurrency ATMs throughout the country, a reason that has led the region to remain as the first country of South America and the second in all of Latin America with more cryptocurrency ATMs.
According to Coin ATM Radar, there are more than 28,000 machines in 72 countries around the world.. These ATMs have 627 operators and 43 manufacturers. Although Bitcoin is one of the most widely used currencies today in transactions, today it can be traded with 11 different cryptocurrencies.
Currently, the Colombian capital, Bogotá, is the city that has the largest number of BTC ATMs in the country, with a total of 29 crypto ATMs, followed by Medellín with 6, Bucaramanga and Pereira with 3, San Andrés and Cali with 2. While Armenia, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cúcuta and La Hormiga each have an ATM.
In the particular case of Colombia, the minimum transaction amount in these cryptocurrency ATMs is USD10,000 and the limits depend on whether the user has a basic or advanced account.
Crypto ATM boom
For the CEO of Buda, Alejandro Beltrán, the border proximity with Venezuela, makes ATMs an option for consumers, due to the strong commercial exchange that occurs between the two countries. Likewise, he stated that said reception is also due to the fact that the country is studying the adoption of cryptocurrencies, taking into account that Colombia is one of the most important economies in this field.
“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”, said the executive to FinanzasNews.
Another reason for this boom in cryptocurrency ATMs in the country has to do with the fact that Colombia is one of the leading countries in the use of cash worldwide, which is seen from the crypto industry, such as a viable alternative to access the physical world, generating a transactional channel that helps consumers manage and transact funds that would be impossible to use efficiently with the limitations that currently exist in the country in the banking sector.
The informality of the Colombian market and the high percentage of the use of cash in the country, lead to the use of crypto ATMs, becoming a tool of great importance, not only for economic inclusion but also for its adoption. In this regard, Beltrán stated that:
“We believe that this can be one of the great contributions of the sector so that the ecosystem continues to grow in different verticals”concluded the CEO of Buda.
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