Dive Brief:
- Nouria, a convenience store chain based in Worcester, Massachusetts, is partnering with Bitcoin Depot to put bitcoin ATMs in about a third of the retailer’s stores, according to a Thursday announcement.
- Bitcoin Depot’s technology allows customers to exchange cash for the cryptocurrency at one of its kiosks if they have a digital wallet.
- Bitcoin Depot has agreements already in place with a number of convenience stores, including Jacksons Food Stores, GetGo Cafe + Market and High’s.
Dive Insight:
Including crypto services could help make these sites more attractive to tech savvy customers, especially among younger demographics. While crypto is not in the public eye as much now as it was a few years ago, actual bitcoin trading is more popular than ever, with the coin recording its highest number of transactions in a single day on April 23 of this year.
Nouria ‘s agreement with Bitcoin Depot will put the kiosks in 57 of the company’s 175 company-owned locations, with the first machines getting installed beginning in Q2, according to the announcement. The bitcoin ATMs will only be in stores in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire.
Customers need a digital wallet to use the machines, and can create one through Bitcoin Depot’s app. Users can then buy the cryptocurrency.
Atlanta-based Bitcoin Depot currently has about 7,400 kiosk locations across North America. It also debuted BDCheckout last fall, which allows customers to access these same services at checkout instead of needing to use the kiosks. That service has been rolled out in convenience stores like Circle K, Pilot Company and Kum & Go.
