Fortune's Global 500 takes an interest in Bitcoin: they want to put BTC in ATMs around the world

By: Bharggavi Ssayee

August 6, 2021 3:05 AM

Bitcoin (BTC) is starting to gain an increasingly important place in the world of payments, especially with El Salvador, which has made it a legal tender. Today, it is the company NCR (National Cash Registrer) which wants to take the king of cryptocurrency to a new level, by acquiring this provider of bitcoin vending machines (ATM).

A new major ally for NCR ...

NCR, founded in 1884 and known as an ATM supplier, announced in an August 2 press release that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire LibertyX. Founded in 2013, the latter launched one of the first Bitcoin ATMs. Today it operates 9,500 and point-of-sale software in 20,000 retail stores in the United States. For the moment, the 2 parties have refrained from revealing the financial conditions relating to this future sale.

The acquisition of LibertyX is scheduled for 2021. However, the closing of the transaction is "subject to customary closing conditions", including obtaining certain regulatory licensing consents and approvals.

The news comes a month after NCR announced its partnership with the NYDIG, to enable 650 US community banks and credit unions to provide BTC buying services to approximately 24 million end users. RBR data indicates that NCR is the largest provider of point-of-sale software and the global leader in the ATM market, with a 25% market share in 2020.

to democratize BTC payments

According to NCR Chief Technology Officer Tim Vanderham, the purchase of LibertyX will allow his company to offer its customers - banks, restaurateurs and retailers - digital currency trading and payment solutions. This includes buying and selling cryptocurrency, transferring funds across borders, and accepting cryptocurrency payments, whether through digital or physical channels.

On the LibertyX side, company CEO Chris Yim spoke about NCR's purchase of the company, and in particular the benefits of this acquisition:

“We look forward to providing NCR customers with the ability to quickly and easily offer digital payments and leverage the cryptocurrencies consumers want, while dramatically expanding the reach, scale and breadth of our software. "

Crypto ATMs are among the essential tools driving the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies. CoinATMRadar currently has 24,593 crypto ATMs around the world at the time of writing. Their number has grown by more than 75% since the start of 2021, compared to an increase of 119.56% in 2020.

The growth of Bitcoin ATMs on a global level cannot be denied, and it would seem that the technological giants have not planned to be overwhelmed by this new mutation in progress!