Bitcoin purchasing gateway Bitit has announced a distribution partnership, which will see 35,000 extra cash outlets added to its global network.
135,000 Reasons to Buy BTC with Cash
The French startup, which launched in 2015, already offers cash-for-Bitcoin services at over 100,000 physical locations worldwide.
Its partnership with voucher provider CASHlib will allow anyone to purchase a voucher in person with cash, swapping a code on the Bitit website for the equivalent in BTC.
“Until now, there have only been limited opportunities to purchase Bitcoin with cash in France. [The] Bitcoin by cash market is only at its beginning,” Econotimes quotes Bitit CEO Nicolas Katan as saying. “By using our network thousands of users can now buy Bitcoin over the counter as easy as any other product.”
Newbies Pay Price For Convenience
Using cash as an entry point into Bitcoin is indeed still in its nascent stages. Large spreads on sites such as Localbitcoins mean Bitcoin cash purchases rank among the worst value ways of buying the digital currency.
Bitcoin ATM numbers have been increasing in many European countries, yet an overall lack of competition means commission on purchases is still high – typically around 7%.
CASHlib and fellow Bitit partner Neosurf between them now offer over 135,000 locations for buying Bitcoin, yet the price paid for the convenience may yet prove off-putting. Neosurf locations recently reduced commission from 10% to 8% per transaction.
Bitit also offers prepaid gift cards denominated in euros and redeemable for Bitcoin online via its website – again subject to a 3.9% transaction fee, making the ultimate rate less desirable than many other purchase options.
“…The Bitit gift cards are not for the traders who are extremely well educated. Our customers buy a service,” Katan told Bitcoinist in an interview in February 2016, stressing ease of use over value for money.
The voucher service will operate in denominations ranging from €25 to €250, with higher amounts requiring ID in compliance with various EU AML and KYC rules.
Traditional Bitcoin exchanges meanwhile continue to record activity in January. Despite the uncertain regulatory situation in China, the country’s flagship exchange BTCC announced new highs on its platform this week.
Across the water, US payment processor BitPay was also celebrating after it announced record trading.
We celebrated a new all-time record for monthly #bitcoin transactions today with a BitPay tradition: champagne and fries. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/WAO3IkWcin
— BitPay (@BitPay) January 9, 2017
What do you think about buying Bitcoin with cash? What improvements could be made? Let us know in the comments below!
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