Cryptocurrency ATMs appeared in Honduras this week as bitcoin supporters hoped to boost demand after El Salvador became the first country to use bitcoin as legal tender earlier this month.
To use the machine, which is colloquially known as "la bitcoinera," users must pay with the local lempira money. The machine was put in a Tegucigalpa office tower by Honduran firm TGU Consulting Group. In an effort to educate Hondurans about virtual assets through first-hand experience, Juan Mayen, TGU's 28-year-old chief executive, spearheaded the push to bring the ATM to the country.
This is the first time that crypto-currencies can be purchased automatically.
Because of Honduras' unstable political climate, "you had to do it on a peer-to-peer basis by finding someone who was... prepared to do it, then meet in person to do it, and carry a certain amount of cash," he said. Ethereum was selling at $3,237 and bitcoin was at $48,140 on Friday. Mayen said he hopes to install more devices if the service is popular. Users must scan official identification and enter personal information such as a phone number in order to make a purchase.
According to Mayen, many software developers in Honduras are already paid in cryptocurrency, and remittances will be cheaper as well.
- Reuters
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