P.E.I. to get new bitcoin ATM
'We thought that P.E.I. would be an excellent next stepping stone for us.'
P.E.I. will be getting a new kind of ATM next month — and it will be used for buying bitcoin.
Bitcoin is a form of digital currency, called cryptocurrency, that can be bought and traded online. It's not regulated by a government or banking institution and can be used to make purchases at several online retailers.
Akram Ayach is the head of operations of Coin Nation ATMs, the company bringing the machine to the Island. He said the company already has eight bitcoin ATMs set up across the Maritimes and he's been impressed by the growing number of people using their services.
"We thought that P.E.I. would be an excellent next stepping stone for us," Ayach said. "We want people to be engaged, there's already a few crypto-enthusiaists in the Maritimes that we've known about just from interacting with our machines."
He said the ATM will arrive on P.E.I. during the first week of February, but the company has not yet released where the machine will be located.
How it works
Ayach said using a bitcoin ATM is a fast and simple way to buy or trade bitcoin in only a few steps.
A person can walk up to the machine, just like a normal ATM, he explained. They select the crypto-currency they want to buy and the machine will show the trading price of the currency, he added, which is based on the live price from the Canadian Exchange, plus a surcharge to use the machine.
A user can select the digital wallet, he said, which can be held in either an app, USB drive, or browser online, where the bitcoin can be deposited.
"Step three would be to enter your money and then that's it, you're done," he said. "Every time you put in a bill it will show that addition on the screen and then whenever you're done feeding it whatever you want to buy worth of crypto, you hit finish and that's it you go home."
Ayach explained many people in Canada use bitcoin as a way to hold money, similar to a stock or commodity. He added that some online retailers, like Microsoft and Amazon have started accepting bitcoin as a payment option and he thinks it will only be a matter of time before more retailers follow their lead.
High risk, high reward
Bitcoin emerged on online markets in 2009 and has been growing in popularity over the last few years. Doug Keefe is one Islander who uses bitcoin and co-organizes a monthly meet up at the Startup Zone in Charlottetown for people who are interested in buying and trading the currency.
He said the monthly meet ups are a way to bring people together to help anyone with any level of interest in the currency better understand how to use it. He said the arrival of a bitcoin ATM could help make the currency more accessible for Islanders.
"One of the challenges right now is how to actually buy bitcoin," Keefe said. "With a bitcoin ATM it really just allows you to come in there and purchase it on the spot so it's removing that barrier to entry."
He added that the first thing people need to know before buying bitcoin is that it is a still a high-risk investment and it's important to take steps to understand the market before you buy.
"It is very high risk, I think that's ultimately what you have to be aware of," he explained. "It's not retirement money type of investment, it's certainly something you can play with but you have to be okay with the chance of losing it."
Learn before you buy
One company in Charlottetown is trying to help people better understand these risks by offering users a virtual market where they can practice managing the currency.
CryptoGround is a free online service that provides users with $50,000 in fake money that can be used to buy and trade bitcoin within a simulated market.
Co-founder and CEO, Rakesh Patel, launched the company last year. He said he felt the emerging bitcoin market needed a space where people could learn how to use it without having to invest actual money.
"You had to really invest into it to learn the game," Patel said. "We have about 33,000 uses who are regular customers who come and actually practice their training sessions to learn cryptocurrency."
Patel said the service is a risk-free way for people to learn about cryptocurrency and test their trading strategies before investing their money to enter the market.
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