With the new ATM, users in Venezuela can exchange BTC, DASH, and BCH for US dollars in cash. The company Veinte Venezolana de Intercambio also plans to activate a new ATM.
After two ATMs for Bitcoin and Dash started operating in Caracas, Venezuela, the first equipment with the ability to sell cryptocurrencies for cash US dollars is now under preparation.
It should be noted that the device belongs to the Panda Group, a company dedicated to providing payment and exchange services with cryptocurrencies in both Venezuela and Colombia.
The CTO of Panda, Typson Sánchez, confirmed that the final details for the launch of the ATM are being refined. It is still necessary to determine the place where the device will be operating and the maximum withdrawal limits. Even though the minimum was established at USD 5, the maximum is still being evaluated.
Concerning the possible date for the activation of the ATM, Sánchez said that they estimate that it will occur on February 20th. However, this date is not definitive as it depends on whether the missing details are finalized.
Regarding the commissions on each operation, Sánchez reported that they are calculated at between 5% and 10%. The ATM will operate with US dollars, once the mechanism for receiving bills is adapted since it is configured by default to receive euros. The CTO said that they opted for the US dollar for liquidity matters in Venezuela, where this currency is moving on daily.
Another ATM on the Way
Panda’s ATM is not the only one with the ability to sell cryptocurrencies that is about to be activated in Caracas. Oscar Sánchez, sales manager of Veinte Venezolana de Intercambio and Cryptobuyer, explained that Veinte also has a two-way team in Caracas.
Veinte Venezolana de Intercambio is the company that installed the first cryptocurrency ATMs in the country. Both teams have the option to buy with Bitcoin dollars and DASH and are located in a Caracas branch of Traki, one of the largest retail stores in the country; and at luxurious Eurobuilding Hotel, which recently began accepting payments with cryptocurrencies.
In addition to Veinte ATMs, Panda had already installed mobile ATMs in cities in the interior of the South American country. According to data from Coin ATM Radar, there are a total of 6 cryptocurrency ATMs in Venezuela, which include automatic and mobile ones.
Venezuela on the cryptocurrency ATM map
Adding the two two-way (purchase and sale) ATMs that are about to be installed in Caracas, there would be 8 devices available to Venezuelan cryptocurrency users.
In this way, according to figures from Coin ATM Radar, Venezuela would be among the 35 countries with the most cryptocurrency ATMs. Among the countries on that list, which already exceeds 6,300 ATMs, the United States is the most prominent with more than 4,700 installed devices. Only three other countries have more than 100 operational cryptocurrency ATMs, namely Canada (756), United Kingdom (302) and Austria (172).
In the Latin American region, Venezuela remains in the sixth place, behind Mexico and Argentina (11), Dominican Republic (13), Panama (16), and Colombia, which leads the region’s ecosystem with 56 ATMs to date.
By Willmen Blanco
