By now, most of you have some sort of crypto in your wallets. How much, it doesn’t matter. What does matter, is the fact that everyone is riding this crypto craze and that most of us own, trade, buy and use cryptocurrencies to some extent.
When we mentioned this, we also need to mention regular or FIAT currency. FIAT currency is here and still will be here with us no matter how much crypto advances and how much of us have it or use it. One thing that was an obstacle until several years ago was the ability to do something with your crypto, meaning buying or selling something and paying with the coins you own. This was overcome by businesses offering ways to pay with your crypto online, in most cases. But what happens if you want to go out, browse a store and pay on the spot with your coins?
That was another obstacle that was swiftly managed and from there we could see some advances in this field. We are now at the point where we have numerous crypto ATMs all over the world that are functioning and that allows you to buy Bitcoin on a physical machine. If you are not an owner of any crypto by now, why not try to get some by trading, everyone else is doing that and they are not regretting it. If you are up to it, click here and find out more.
Now, let’s return to the Bitcoin or crypto ATMs. From here we will tell you a few things you need to know about these, so buckle in and enjoy the read.
1. Familiarity
When it comes to Bitcoin or any other crypto for that matter, we are all still in the stage of early adoption which is far from where we need to go and where this entire thing is headed to. One of the biggest threats to full adoption is the fact that we are simply scared. We don’t understand the technology, there are a lot of unknowns to many people and there is that unfamiliarity that we dread. Now what the idea of Bitcoin or any other crypto ATM is doing is breaking that fear down and bringing in something that we are all used to. Physical ability to walk into a store with nothing but cash and a wallet app and you can get started with some crypto right away. These things are awesome because they allow for a complete crypto “noob” to step in, turn some cash into crypto of their choice and start this fun journey.
2. Wallet
Now before you run into your closest Bitcoin ATM and try to buy some crypto using this easy method, you need to know that this is not like your regular FIAT electronic currency that you can get and transfer to your bank account. Things work a bit differently here and to own Bitcoin or any other crypto for that matter, you need to have a separate wallet – an electronic one. There are plenty of these online and all of them have some pros and cons, and the best way to make a choice is to ask someone that already owns one or that has used one of these. They will be your best bet for a good choice. The different approach to this is to do your research and try and find out as much as you can about these wallets and make an educated decision by yourself. What we can suggest you do, especially if you are just now getting into crypto, is try and find a wallet that has a very simple but effective interface and that is simple to set up. You do not need anything too complicated to scare you off right at the get-go.
3. Hunt
Now when we say hunt, we don’t mean get yourself a firearm and go hunting in the forest, no! What we mean is search the web and hunt down the atm you want and need. As of now, there are numerous crypto ATMs and all of them are not the same. Some of those are for Bitcoin, some for Ethereum, some do just transfer without an option to buy and so on. There are numerous sites online that track these ATMs and they can tell you which ones are where and which one is for what. This will save you a lot of legwork and going around town trying to find what you need. Sit down at your computer, type a keyword like crypto ATM or Bitcoin atm and see what pops up. You will get a map of where you are and every crypto ATM on it, just like you would get if you searched your Bank ATM. Happy hunting!
4. It is all straightforward
After you found the ATM you want or that is closest to you, you will need some cash and presto you will very quickly and very easily become a proud owner of the crypto of your choice. As we mentioned everything here is straightforward. You will come to the Bitcoin ATM; tap the screen and you will be offered a choice to buy this coin alone or others that this machine offers. That will solely depend on the ATM and what you searched for. After that, you will be asked how much you want to put toward your Bitcoin purchase and after that, you will be asked to place your wallet QR code on the screen for scanning. If you do this step successfully you will then be prompted to insert the amount of cash you want to go toward Bitcoin. After that, you will be shown just how much money you have put in and how many coins that that money buys. After that, you will need to confirm the transaction and in a matter of minutes, your wallet will notify you of payment. That is it!
5. Fees
You also need to know that these ATMs are not for free and that most of them will charge you a fee for your transaction, where the amount of that fee will vary from one ATM to another. The other thing to know is that there will be a steeper conversion rate between the machine and the apps like Coinbase. This is the way all of this operates and if you want to ditch those long waiting periods where KYC and money laundering protocols need to check you up before you even come close to a crypto coin, you have to pay a certain price. This, of course, is up to you and you can choose to pay smaller fees and wait or a bit steeper ones but own a Bitcoin in a matter of hours instead of weeks.
