COINME AND COINSTAR HAVE INSTALLED MORE THAN 2,000 KIOSKS (GROCERY STORES) IN THE US TO BUY BTC FOR CASH

Coinstar has expanded its network of cash withdrawal kiosks – more than 2,000 new kiosks have been installed in stores in 19 different US states.

This week, the company announced that, thanks to a partnership with blockchain startup Coinme, which allows customers to convert cash into bitcoins, the Coinstar network has expanded from 70 to 2,100 kiosks. In addition, while the partnership initially included kiosks at Albertsons and Safeway stores, they are now also installed at Jewel, Shaw and Save Mart stores, according to a press release.

Coinstar CEO, Jim Gaherity, stated that his company has received “overwhelmingly positive” response to the initial announcement of the collaboration with Coinme in January 2019. At the time, Coinstar said that within the partnership in kiosks, you could buy bitcoins worth up to $2.5 thousand.

A press release released on Wednesday explains that the collaboration led to a 15% increase in the number of Coinme users per week. In addition, the first quarter of 2019 was “one of the most successful in the five-year history of Coinme”: the volume of transactions increased by 92%, and the number of processed transactions increased by 109% compared to the first quarter of 2018.