The city of Williston now installs a crypto ATM at the airport after accepting cryptocurrencies as payments.
Bitcoin ATMs have been experiencing a growth boom. According to CoinATMRadar statistics, approximately 31,372 ATMs worldwide exist, with at least 48 new ones installed each day.
But amid this growth, there is something new. These ATMs have been all private initiatives. But today, a different piece of news got announced: a city in the United States of America has just installed its first Bitcoin ATM whose responsibility is the public sector, specifically the local government.
Williston, a city in North Dakota is currently installing a cryptocurrency ATM at its international airport, but it is not a private initiative; this installment is the first government-hosted crypto ATM, according to a spokesman for the city. Williston has also accepted cryptocurrencies for utility bill payments since May of this year.
Government Crypto ATM
The US state of North Dakota revealed a contribution with Coin Cloud to install a cryptocurrency ATM at its Williston Basin International Airport (XWA).
Coin Cloud crypto ATMs allow users to purchase and sell more than 40 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Ether. Users can also withdraw fiat money from their digital wallets. The city said they would not act as a custodian of the funds or manage any crypto transactions and also emphasized that purchases and withdrawals would get handled by Coin Cloud.
Cummings highlighted that when users acquire cryptocurrencies on an exchange, the transaction gets directly linked to the users’ bank through a checking account, debit card, or linked to users credit card.
Turning cash into cryptocurrencies through the DCM assures that there would not be a recognizable charge, bank account, or credit card. The deposit and withdrawal process takes effect between the DCM and digital wallet by simply using fiat money.
Service Payments
The city’s CFO also explained that Williston joined efforts with Bitpay in May and now both work together to receive digital currency for city utility bills. The representative noted that with a DCM hosted by a municipality, they are creating a successful roadmap for the public to adopt cryptocurrencies. The CFO also referred to allowing residents to pay with cryptocurrency; he said they are the first municipality in North Dakota and the third in the country to offer this kind of service.
The city also clarified that only utility bills would be eligible to serve as payment with cryptocurrencies. The city highlighted that the service would manage quality assessments, and volumes would also get assessed before migrating other bills.
The global count increased to 13,993 ATMs last year, with the progress of 119.56% after 7,620 new machines got installed. So far, in 2021, at least 10,037 ATMs have been fully installed. The data also suggested that installed crypto ATMs ran at a rate of about 52.3 ATMs per day. In July, The United States of America led this race with at least 48 ATMs installed per day.
By: Jenson Nuñez
