The retail giant has launched a pilot program to offer customers the ability to buy bitcoin at Coinstar kiosks in its stores.
Walmart has started a pilot program to bring bitcoin purchase funds to Coinstar kiosks in some of its US stores.
The pilot is part of a larger partnership between Coinstar and Coinme to offer BTC in more than 8,000 kiosks, including 200 in Walmart stores.
“Walmart is expanding access to Bitcoin to more people… and granting more legitimacy to skeptics,” said Sam Doctor, CSO of BitOoda brokerage.Walmart has launched a pilot program to bring Bitcoin purchase funds to 200 Coinstar kiosks in some of the U.S. retail stores, Bloomberg reported. The initiative is part of a larger cooperation between Coinstar, a maker of machines that allows customers to exchange coins for paper bills or gift cards, and exchange cash for bitcoin Coinme for offer BTC at over 8,000 kiosks in the United States.
“Bitcoin ATMs have been around for quite some time, including in many supermarkets,” Sam Doctor, chief strategy officer and head of research at cryptocurrency broker BitOoda, told Bloomberg. “However, Walmart is expanding access to Bitcoin to more people and giving skeptics more legitimacy if they implement it beyond an initial pilot. “
The initiative was first reported by CoinDesk, which tested the service. Customers who buy BTC insert dollar bills into the Coinstar kiosk and receive a coupon, which can be exchanged for bitcoin minus a 4% machine fee. But customers need to create a Coinme account and go through a background check to use the coupon.
“Coinstar, in partnership with Coinme, has launched a pilot project that allows its customers to use cash to buy bitcoin,” Walmart communications director Molly Blakeman told CoinDesk by email. “There are 200 Coinstar kiosks located in Walmart stores across the United States that are part of this pilot.”