Coinme Raises $10M Led by Pantera Capital, Bitcoin ATMs Transaction Volume Surges by 40%

Coinstar, the firm behind 3,500 Coinme Bitcoin ATMs, is set to increase the total number of the cash-to-Bitcoin enabled supermarket machines.

According to Michael Jack, the firm’s Vice President of product, the doubling of the ATM machines is set to occur within a year. Jack explained that the expansion has been occasioned by the rising number of customers using their machines.

According to the firm’s website, Coinstar operates 20,000 kiosks worldwide and plans are underway to plug Coinme’s exchange API to additional kiosks. However, Jack didn't elaborate on how the firm intends to do this, and when it will take place.

The decision comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen customers embrace Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, even as some businesses continue to flounder. According to Coinme, about 40% of the transactions dating back to February have come from first-timers.

Part of the reason for the increased number of users could be the establishment of Coinme Bitcoin ATMs in supermarkets as well as pharmacies, which have remained open throughout the COVID-19 lockdowns across the world.

In March, shoppers flocked to supermarkets and grocery stores to bolster their supplies due to lockdown uncertainties, and it turns out that they were also topping up on crypto. This has led to Coinme Bitcoin transaction volumes surge by about 40% from February.

Coinme also indicates that there was a ‘slight uptick’ of $1,200 transactions – which is the amount of money disbursed by the Treasury Dept to Americans as a coronavirus stimulus package.

The announcement came just a few days after Coinme revealed it had successfully raised $10 million from firms including Coinstar, Pantera Capital, Hard Yaka, Nima Capital, among others during its series A funding.

In a press release shared with Bitcoin Exchange Guide, Coinme’s spokesperson, Nick Olsson, revealed that the cash will be used in the expansion of the firm’s business in Latin America.