Bitcoin & Groceries: In NC, You Can Now Exchange Money For Cryptocurrency In Some Stores

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RALEIGH – North Carolina is the newest state where Coinstaris offers the purchase of bitcoin at a number of kiosks across the state through a partnership with Coinme, a licensed cryptocurrency money exchange based in Seattle.

A total of 215 kiosks in North Carolina now allow customers to purchase bitcoin with cash, provided they have a valid cell phone number, valid state-issued ID, and of any amount of US dollars.

An account will need to be created with Coinme in order to buy bitcoin.

Not that bitcoin is cheap – so you can make partial purchases.

As of this week, bitcoin has been trading at around $ 40,000, Coinme CEO Neil Bergquist said. “Although bitcoin has a history and historic performance, the value of the cryptocurrency has never fallen below its low from the previous year, with its price continuing to climb every year.”

“The price drop can be seen as a correction rather than a crash because it is built into the very code of bitcoin itself to avoid inflation and overvaluation,” he added.

People can buy portions of bitcoin, also known as partial bitcoin, or division units called Satoshis, Bergquist said Prices start at a dollar.

According to a recent survey by Coinstar, among those who use cryptocurrency, 53% use it to invest and 37% use it to protect their money.

The opening of the kiosks, which are placed in front of grocery stores like Food Lion and Harris Teeter, comes after the Coinme team received approval and clearance to operate as a digital bureau de change in North Carolina . That approval came from the office of the North Carolina Banking Commissioner.

According to Bergquist, there are now 7,000 kiosks across the country, the first kiosk offering the currency exchange service in 2019.

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Now may be the time to buy bitcoin, Bergquist said, depending on its intended use.

Some may choose to buy bitcoin, or another cryptocurrency, as a medium of exchange, which can be sent digitally to friends or family, he said.

For others, with a long-term view, bitcoin could potentially be a long-term store of value, even with price fluctuations, as the history of cryptocurrency shows consistent positive growth year after year. , and it is still considered the most popular and widely used cryptocurrency.

How does the kiosk transfer work?

Coinme has created enterprise software that, via an API, allows legacy financial institutions to crypto, Bergquist said. “Coinstar uses our API to enable their existing kiosks to provide bitcoin purchase.”

Coinme provides a secure digital wallet for its users to store their bitcoin, and the company charges a fee to convert fiat currency – the US dollar – into bitcoin. The company does not charge users for creating or maintaining an account or digital wallet.

At a participating Coinstar kiosk, bitcoin purchase can be selected. The average user who chooses to buy bitcoin transfers around $ 500 in cash into the cryptocurrency, Bergquist said. The Coinstar kiosk prints a voucher, which new or existing Coinme users redeem on the company’s mobile app or through its website, after they log in or have recently created an account and redeemed. good.

“At this point, the customer can do whatever they want with their bitcoin,” Bergquist said. “Kiosks provide an easy way to [users] to use bitcoin as a store of value to accumulate wealth, as many Americans do not have access to traditional assets.

A brief history of bitcoin

Bergquist said bitcoin follows a four-year cycle, noting that based on his experience, the cycle correlates with bitcoin halving events, a term given at the time the number of bitcoins put into circulation is reduced by 50%. The most recent halving event was in May 2020, Bergquist said.

“As bitcoin is an asset in its infancy, it is subject to price fluctuations,” Bergquist said. A fluctuation occurred throughout 2011: The price of bitcoin rose from $ 1 in April to a high of $ 32 in June (an increase of 3,200% in three months) and then fell. In November 2011, the price of a bitcoin was $ 2.

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The cryptocurrency started in 2013 at a price of $ 23.40 per bitcoin, then rose to $ 220 at the beginning of April of the same year, then fell in the middle of the month to $ 70, rising to 123. , $ 30 in October and continuing to increase in December to $ 1,156.10. Three days later, the price of a bitcoin was $ 760, and at the start of 2015, the price of a bitcoin was $ 315.

Enter 2017: a banner year for bitcoin, with a price of $ 1,000 at the start of this year, Bergquist said.

In mid-December, a bitcoin was priced at $ 20,089. “The 2017 rally put bitcoin in the headlines and caught the attention of the general public,” Bergquist said. “It also put him on the radar of governments and economists who started thinking about developing their digital currencies. Analysts have started to debate its value, and pundits and investors have tried to predict its next high. “

The price rose again in 2020, which Bergquist said was in part due to investors buying bitcoin as they sought to hedge against inflation. In January 2021, the price of bitcoin topped previous highs, reaching $ 41,528 and then around $ 65,000 in April.

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As of this week, bitcoin has been trading at around $ 40,000, Bergquist said. “Although bitcoin has a history and historic performance, the value of the cryptocurrency has never fallen below its low from the previous year, with its price continuing to climb every year.”

“The price drop can be seen as a correction rather than a crash because it is built into the very code of bitcoin itself to prevent inflation and overvaluation,” Bergquist said.

According to a recent survey by Coinstar, among those who use cryptocurrency, 53% use it to invest and 37% use it to protect their money.

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