Canada, a world leader in Bitcoin ATM access

Canada has more Bitcoin ATMs than another nation, largely attributed to the efforts of Ottawa-based startup BitAccess.

The one-year-old firm has designed, manufactured, and shipped more than 60 Bitcoin ATMs to cities worldwide and a dozen across Canada, cementing Canada’s position as the global leader in Bitcoin ATM access.

Earlier this week, CAVIRTEX, a Calgary-based online digital currency exchange, announced the availability of six new BitAccess ATMs in Toronto and Mississauga. The company plans to add four other ATMs in Halifax, Niagara, Ottawa, and Vancouver.

CAVIRTEX says the ATMs will allow users to buy and sell up to $3,000 CDN worth of Bitcoin.

CAVIRTEX CEO Joseph David told the Ottawa Citizen:

“Launching these Bitcoin Teller Machines in Canada is a significant milestone that will let anyone with a cellphone and cash buy Bitcoins instantly. It’s a big first step.”

In an interview with CBC Radio, Kyle Kemper, CAVIRTEX’s VP of business development, said the machines’ arrival is proof that Bitcoin is coming of age.

Kemper said:

“As more and more people come on board, I think we’re going to find price stability.”

He added:

“It’s the future of money. We haven’t seen innovation in the backing centre for a long time.”

Ryan Wallace, a co-founder of BitAccess, told the Citizen that his firm is not a supporter of Bitcoin specifically, but rather believes that new forms of cryptocurrencies will be the future of payment systems everywhere.

Wallace said:

“We’re agnostic. We really don’t care if it’s Bitcoin or any other alt-coin. Right now, Bitcoin is the leader, so we’re focusing on Bitcoin. But it’d be quite easy to switch over to any other alt-coin.”

He added:

“We can do any alt-coin under the sun. For now we’re sticking to Bitcoin, because even Bitcoin is a bit much for people to get their heads around.”

The sale of its ATMs to CAVIRTEX is a solid success for BitAccess. To keep up with international orders, BitAcess recently opened offices in California’s Silicon valet, and is opening a third office in Europe.

But as the business continues to expand, so does the competition. Several firms have popped up to compete in the space with BitAccess, and should the market get large enough, it will likely draw the attention of industry giants such as NCR Corp., which is the largest developer of consumer transaction technologies and is responsible for a vast majority of ATMs found in major banks worldwide.

It’s an issue for which Wallace and the three co-founders are currently preparing. He hopes BitAcess’ expertise and momentum in the space helps it continue to grow.

He said:

“NCR can beat us on hardware all day long, but they have no expertise in Bitcoin software.”

Wallace added:

“It becomes more about the Bitcoin software and less about the hardware. I don’t think they could flip the switch and have something out there tomorrow. It’d take them a considerable amount of time to catch up to where we’re at.”

Photo credits:

BitAccess image: File photo

CAVIRTEX logo: CAVIRTEX media kit