South American nation Uruguay has installed its first cryptocurrency ATM in Punta del Este, a city located in the southeast of the country.
Two local crypto companies have developed the ATM where citizens can buy cryptocurrency: Urubit developed the software and Inbierto developed the hardware.
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As per an estimate, Uruguay has around 50,000 crypto holders that have been currently trading in crypto from the peer-to-peer market.
Speaking to Ámbito.com, Inbierto CEO Adolfo Varela said that with the installation of cryptocurrency ATM Punta del Este, the quintessential tourist city can lead the adoption of the cryptocurrency market in South America.
He also said that demand for cryptocurrency is very good and this will further increase cryptocurrency adoption among citizens.
In response to a question about the number of coins that can be traded on the ATM, he replied that there are five coins including Bitcoin, Ferret Token, Urubit, Binance Coin (BNB), and Binance USD (BUSD). In the near future, it is understood, the company will add more coins.
The installation of the ATM can create trust in the cryptocurrency market, where most trading happens among users themselves, as there are no regulations on crypto.
Varela believes that with the adoption of crypto ATMs the possibility of being victim to a scam can be eliminated.
The company intends to grow in Maldonado, then Colonia, Montevideo and by the end of the year, they want to expand their coverage throughout the national territory.
They are also in touch with South American nations to install crypto ATMs that will provide me with more global reach.
However, this is just a baby step in the adoption of crypto ATMs in this country, as installation of ATMs is very low in South American nations.
According to Coinatamradar.com, there are only 41 cryptocurrency ATMs in the whole of South America, of which the majority are in Brazil and Argentina.
Varela was asked why Ethereum was added to the list since it is the second most popular crypto after Bitcoin. He explained that the companies rely on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to process transactions and another reason is Ethereum’s fees are high, which dissuades users from using the machine, thus the BSC integration was chosen.
It is to be noted that in December 2021, the Central Bank of Uruguay in a document revealed a roadmap for regulating crypto assets. The 25-page document also proposed to review the current law and make changes to include cryptocurrency.
It also said that changes will be made in the existing financial regulations, instead of creating a virtual asset law to encompass the universe of these assets in just one project.
