A New Crypto Teller Machine Operational In Johannesburg
There is a noticeable growing interest for cryptocurrency in South Africa and Zimbabwe: two nations that have marked the continent in two different and opposite ways, the first being the continent’s economic powerhouse and the latter, one of Africa’s most troubled nations. Both countries have had different crypto experiences and development.
According to a report from a South African news outlet this week, the country has got its “first” cryptocurrency ATM in its largest city: Johannesburg. The machine is found at a store in Northwold, part of one of the biggest retail chains in the country – Spar.
Business Insider South Africa says that the teller machine is a multicurrency device. Customers have the possibility to buy bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) with fiat cash. The problem now lies in the fact that transactions are only one way: only purchases of cryptos are available.
Being the “first”, there are a lot of speculations and doubts about it. After the release of the report. Another media corrected the information. Mybroadband wrote, using another example: “While this is undoubtedly a forward-looking move, it is most certainly not the first cryptocurrency ATM to go live in South Africa.” A member of the local crypto sector affirms that numerous cryptocurrency ATMs are operating in South Africa.
The CEO of mining hardware supplier Bitmart in the person of Jacques Serfontein said that his company has installed one last year at its store in Nelspruit in the east of Johannesburg. The said machine also supports multiple currencies: bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, dash, and zcash. He also added that he is aware of other crypto ATMs in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Midrand.
The new teller machine may not be the first in Johannesburg, but it is definitely the first in Northwold.
George Neophytou is the bitcoin enthusiast and entrepreneur who installed the machine. He said “I asked permission to use this location because I work here. What better place to set it up, so that if a user required help, I’d be on-site to help.” He had the support of Vendibit, a company developing software and hardware blockchain solutions; and also his partner, the director of the Danish firm Copen coin: Daniel Cappiello.
