Does Kenya Have Bitcoin ATMs? How Do They Work?

Bitcoin is gradually expanding its roots around the world. Many cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms are emerging to cater the increased supply of digital currency. Along with these – around 6000 Bitcoin ATMs are present around the world. Most of them are in the USA and Africa.

The first-ever bitcoin ATM was installed in Canada – inside Waves Coffee Shop. However, after that, Canada was left behind in this race as the USA and Africa took over.

Recently Kenya has introduced a BTM (Bitcoin ATM) in its capital Nairobi but no mechanism allows the conversion of fiat currency into cryptocurrency. As of now, The BTM supports a minimum value of 500 Kenyan Shillings against any cryptocurrency such as Litecoin and Bitcoin.

Bitcoin ATMs 

Bitcoin ATMs replicate the model of the mainstream ATMs that are common around the world. However, there are some slight differences between the booth types of ATMs. With BTMs, there is no cash involved – as it is a digital currency ATM. Traders can use the machine to buy and sell bitcoins buy and sell bitcoins in return for the local currency like the Dollar and Rand.

Unlike the conventional ATMs, the BTMs (bitcoin teller machines) are connected to the internet to perform the transactions, as there are no banknotes rather digital currency that is available on the blockchain.

Moreover, the Bitcoin ATM does not operate with a bank – as digital currency is decentralized. The machine is directly linked to the blockchain or e-wallet. These machines have made buying and selling of bitcoin much easier. However, the ratio of Bitcoin ATMs available is insignificant in front of the conventional ATMs.

How to use BTMs?

BTMs are better in terms of user compatibility. The process is smooth and seamless with just a few steps involved. The only con is that BTMs are not easily available in most parts of the world.

The users can access the local BTM and click on the option of cash withdrawal. After that, they can put in the amount they want to transfer in their digital wallet, and simply use the QR code of their crypto wallet to perform the transaction.

Bitcoin ATMs v Crypto Exchanges

In the foreseeable future, bitcoin ATMs would be more popular around the world. There are several reasons for it.

First, BTMs are convenient as users can buy or sell cryptocurrencies in a span of a few seconds. On the other hand, a crypto exchange might take up more than a week to perform the transaction. Moving on, BTMs allow the option of trading bitcoin anonymously. However, as far as crypto exchanges are concerned – they require proper signing up procedures before any trade materializes.

BTMs are more secure as the user does not share any information regarding their crypto assets and wallets. There is no threat of a potential hacker getting into your wallet or stealing your digital money.

Similarly, BTMs are trustable entities – in the case of crypto exchanges, there are very few trustable names. The percentage of gimmicky exchanges has increased over time – these scams will aid people opting for BTMs or auto trading platforms like Bitqh rather than crypto exchanges in the future.

Conclusion

There are quite a few BTMs around the globe. Alongside the USA and South Africa – Kenya has recently made a BTM in its capital Nairobi.

Bitcoin ATMs are way better when we compare them to other transactional methods such as crypto exchanges. The process involves a few steps that replicate the model of a conventional ATM.

Moreover, the convenience and safety of BTM is what sets them apart from crypto exchanges and cryptocurrency brokers.

Due to these reasons, bitcoin ATMs can be deemed successful if they are installed in more countries. This step might convince people to trust digital currencies as ATMs feel far more tangible than any other crypto exchange.