BitAccess, the popular Bitcoin ATM manufacturer, has enabled customers to buy Bitcoin via debit card or cash in Canada by implementing Bitcoin purchases at over 6,000 locations in Canada. BitAccess’ well-established competitor, LibertyX, has 19,000 retail locations south of the border, in the US.
Flexepin technology
BitAccess’ new retail locations will use Flexepin technology, which involves buying a receipt-like gift voucher with a debit card or cash, and then entering the code printed on it into your BitAccess account, which will then credit the BTC amount to your wallet. This service is crucial to those privacy-orientated customers who do not wish to link their bank account or debit card with their Bitcoin wallet, for whatever reason.
LibertyX, BitAccess main competitor
BitAccess’ main competitor in the Bitcoin ATM and in-person Bitcoin purchasing market is undoubtedly LibertyX. Although BTMs have proven to be highly popular is south-east Asia, the market is only beginning to arise in the United States and Canada. LibertyX already has 19,000 retail locations in the USA that allow customers to buy Bitcoin with cash, and this number is steadily increasing.
The world’s first publicly available BTM was a Robocoin ATM that opened in the Waves coffee shop in downtown Vancouver, Canada, on 29th October 2013. The first US Bitcoin ATM opened in a cigar bar in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 18th February 2014, however it was removed 30 days later. As of 2015, there are more than 400 BTMs available across the globe, the vast majority of them being in North America.
Whether customers will prefer to use one company over the other is yet to be seen, but competition in the Bitcoin trading market is very much welcomed, as it only serves to help the customer by forcing innovation and improving usability.