Paxful Plans to Bring 20 Crypto ATMs to Colombia

Published on by Coindesk | Published on

A partnership between two cryptocurrency firms could bring 20 new bitcoin ATMs to cities around Colombia.

The bitcoin exchange, Paxful, and crypto ATM company, CoinLogiq, announced the partnership Sept. 5.

According to Coinatmradar.com, Colombia already boasts 46 bitcoin ATMs, nearly triple the number of all the other terminals located in South America.

Further, Paxful conducted a survey of 1,000 random Colombian internet users, and found that nearly 80 percent of Colombians are open to investing in cryptocurrencies.

In 2017, Colombia's central bank, Banco de la República, decreed crypto does not represent legal tender, while the Superintendencia Financiera said financial institutions are not authorized to invest, broker, or manage virtual currencies.

Despite these dictates, crypto exchange LocalBitcoins found that transactions made in Colombian pesos spiked 1,200 percent in 2017.

Evidence suggests that demand for crypto in Colombia is at least partially driven by expatriates from neighboring Venezuela.

As previously reported, a cottage industry of crypto exchanges and ATMs has sprouted providing services for Venezuelans to exchange their hyperinflated currency and send remittances back home.

The newly-added ATMs will be placed in shopping centers and other public spots.

Paxful's manager for Latin America, Magdiela Rivas, said the partnering firms are also working to place 25 new cryptocurrency ATMs in Peru.

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