For the moment, under this modality, users will only be able to acquire bitcoins. Soon the function will be enabled for other digital currencies
Residents of New York, United States, will be able to use their debit cards to buy cryptocurrencies in selected traditional ATMs in the city, thanks to a license recently granted by LibertyX, the first Bitcoin firm that, together with the manufacturer of ATMs Genmega, works to offer this service.
The objective is to allow the purchase of bitcoins as if it were a traditional withdrawal operation. To achieve this, customers must download the LibertyX application on their smartphones and create an account. Once verified the personal information, users will be able to buy through the cash machines a maximum daily equivalent to USD $ 3,000 in bitcoins (BTC).
This occurs days after the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) granted BitLicense to Robinhood Crypto and LibertyX. According to critics and analysts, the decision by the NYDFS is a great step to make The Big Apple one of the most innovative cities in terms of technology and finance. Even in early January, the government of that state created a group of specialists to study the blockchain technology and the advantages it can offer to the society.
The NYDFS issued a statement which reads: “To date, at NYDFS we have approved 16 licenses for companies in the digital coin market. In New York, LibertyX will provide consumers with mechanisms to buy Bitcoin through debit cards, and becomes the first BitLicense holder to allow its customers to use their debit cards to acquire the cryptocurrency through traditional ATMs”.
The agency said it will review the criteria that will be used to grant BitLicense since, according to the statement, times have changed and the ecosystem of digital currencies has also changed. After the measure, many enthusiasts have shown their support by messages through the main social networks.
About LibertyX
Libertyx has been a key piece in facilitating the purchase of cryptocurrencies through ATMs in the United States. The initiative done by this firm in order to facilitate the purchase of cryptocurrencies has the support of a large part of the crypto community in that country.
In February 2014, LibertyX opened its first ATMs in Boston, before it also managed to open Bitcoin ATMs at Harvard and then at MIT. Currently, thousands of local stores have Bitcoin payment options and there are more than 100 thousand ATMs offering this type of service throughout the country, which is now available to New Yorkers.
In the same vein, the license provides a regulatory certainty for LibertyX to operate in New York, a luxury for many developers and blockchain-based businesses. This clarity has eluded Bitcoin entrepreneurs who operate similar companies in other countries and jurisdictions. In India, for example, police arrested two businessmen in October last year for trying to establish a Bitcoin ATM.
DFS has also granted a license to the Robinhood Exchange, which allows New York residents to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies using the company’s mobile application.
The purchase of bitcoins with debit cards that LibertyX now offers makes the adoption process much easier for people who have reservations about exchanges and P2P (peer to peer) trading platforms, especially for those who believe that the process is very complicated.
For the moment, under this modality, users will only be able to acquire bitcoins with their debit cards. It is expected that the company will soon enable this possibility for other digital currencies.
By María Rodríguez
