Cryptocurrency retailers have been popping up at an exponential rate in the past couple of years. Cash for Coins, operating from Santa Monica California in the US has been retooled and reintroduced as Expresscoin that advertises itself as the “fastest and easi-est way” to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies online. Expresscoin was created by Will Wheeler and Joseph Hsich, Bitcoin enthusiasts who wanted to give the everyday user a safe and fast way to get access to digital currencies.
According to Hsich, one of the founders:
“The digital currency marketplace creates a world of opportunity for the everyday consumer; however, there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation that deters average consumers from getting involved with Bitcoin. We’re looking to change that”
Hsich also said that the company was to simplify the process. Cointelegraph spent some time testing out the Expresscoin website, however. While the owners seem to have the right idea the website itself is very hard to use and the service still does not have many of the promised features. For instance, it is still impossible to turn Bitcoin into fiat currency. You are able to use dollars to buy Expresscoin but are not yet able to reverse the process. The FAQ does indicate that this is currently only possible on a case by case basic and requires an email to support.
Transferring cash into the account from an online source is also not yet possible. The Expresscoin is only accepting Personal Checks, Traditional Wires and USPS Money Orders. Verification was also difficult. The first step was an email verification, which went well. But when we used a non-US phone number the website accepted it by never responded with either a call or text. When we tried to contact support about this, the “Contact” link was not functional. The support section is also empty of a great deal of content. While this detail is sure to be filled in later, there are still currently a large numbers of questions not answered about Expresscoin.
Expresscoin is fully integrated with other wallets like Bitcore and Multi-bit and is also registered with FinCEN and offers multiple payment options. Wheeler is confident however, saying that Cash for Coins “facilitated over $15 million USD in unique trans-action during their first year and have almost 20,000 active paying customers.” Their plan is to be the primary medium for alternate coin commerce. Although it appears that they still have a ways to go before this goal is accomplished.