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For years, Bitcoin has been an obscure cross-border and permission-less volatile currency with some degree of anonymity for those who were tech-savvy enough to appreciate its nuances and its buying power. Your average citizen might be aware that it exists but not have enough information about what it can do to want to purchase any of it. Others were intimidated by the large learning curve needed to understand the ins and outs of the Bitcoin purchasing process.
All of that has been changing recently, with many Apps, and services or exchanges to access cryptos, at the forefront of this revolutionary change for Bitcoin buying and selling is BitcoinPoint. This innovative company gave tablets to agents, mostly Bureaus de Change in London, to perform the buy and the sale of bitcoin to customers at a better rate than the bulky bitcoin ATMs that were flourishing in the UK and mostly in London (over 100 machines!) at the end of the last decade.
But with a tougher regulation in place around “KYC” (Know Your Customer) and the high costs related to the logistic of these Bitcoin ATMs impacting negatively the fees for users, these machines have been less attractive and BitcoinPoint has accelerated the disruption of the sector:
On the top of its network of agents, the company implemented at the end of last year a stack leveraging the largest ‘standard ATM network in the UK (Cashzone .co.uk) with 16,000 ATMs to offer people the chance to sell their Bitcoin and withdraw cash almost everywhere in the UK.
The next step for BitcoinPoint is to enable the Buying of crypto in over 10,000 Point of Sale terminals to complete and create a national brick-and-mortar crypto exchange with both buy & sell options following an agreement recently signed.
These options in the buying and selling process for Bitcoin seems to have heralded a new reality where everyday people can buy and sell cryptocurrencies at their corner stores!
Bitcoin for the Non-Tech Savvy
BitcoinPoint CEO Benoit Marzouk says that, “registering on a crypto exchange could be a complex process for non-tech savvy people in the past”. This was a huge hurdle to the inclusion of new Bitcoin investors all along. However, Marzouk has solved this problem with his “buy in 1 click” killer App which “Made it easier for people to simply buy £5 of Bitcoin”. He added “we were also the first crypto company in the UK a year ago to implement Open Banking Technology to allow the buy of bitcoin by instant bank transfer directly from the customer’s App”.
This easy access to Bitcoin has democratized the process of investing in cryptocurrency, making it a realistic and totally achievable goal for even the least tech-savvy of consumers. This is a huge change for this market space, because Bitcoin has always seemed almost to revel in its secrecy and the exclusivity of its reach.
Inclusion is Essential
People value products that they can easily interact with, not products that require what feels like backdoor, secretive sales to be able to purchase them. This almost underground character that has shrouded Bitcoin for years seems to have been lifted by the ingenuity of Marzouk “our App could be used by a 6 year old child”.
Marzouk has stated that the company is in talks to work with new partners globally, including a bank, and he expects that this change will make Bitcoin even more readily available to people around the world, even if they have only just learned about its existence.
Bitcoin For Sale at the Corner Store
Marzouk is extending the reach of BitcoinPoint to 320,000 cash-in locations in 30 countries, making Bitcoin the ultimate option for saving and investing for those who don’t have access to the financial system, the “unbanked”.
All of these changes would mean that Bitcoin would finally be available to anyone without the need of a bank account or a credit card.
What Can You Do With Bitcoin?
For the uninitiated, Bitcoin might seem a bit silly. What can you do with this money that is not normal money?
“it’s actually the opposite, fiat currencies have many limitations, from sending money aboard or having a transfer blocked by your bank or worst, having your account frozen for some arbitrary decisions, basically, you rely on a 3rd party. While with bitcoin, one of the most important invention in human history according to me, you can hold a valuable asset that no one can seize if you opt for self-custody. It sounds complicated but it’s simply keeping a list of 24 words safe, as a backup of your wallet. We of course have this non-custodial feature into our BitcoinPoint App, so you can directly top up a blockchain wallet where only you have the keys”.
Marzouk
Today, Bitcoin is becoming a common form of currency used by people all over the world. With the adoption of Bitcoin by PayPal, Visa and other giants like Tesla, it is likely only a matter of time before Bitcoin becomes a commonplace form of currency used by everyone.
Marzouk added “it may take another 5 years, until the ‘Bitcoin native generation’ – who have grown up with an understanding and awareness of Bitcoin – become young adults themselves, with a desire to use Bitcoin as their preferred currency, rather than viewing it as some kind of digital gold”.
BitcoinPoint Has Big Plans for the Future
Marzouk has stated that this is only the beginning of the cryptocurrency revolution that his company has helped to spearhead. “We’ll bring cryptos through branches or networks of merchants simply by replicating what we’ve successfully completed in the UK. Also, we’ll implement revolutionary instant cross border money transfer solutions with blockchain technologies… Last but not least we’ll engage with local central banks with our unique on-ramp (ways to buy through POS) and off-ramp (ways to sell through ATMs) solutions”. Back In January we did a presentation to the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority the UK regulator) to explain our ATM stack and our vision for CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency).
In the short term, we are currently organizing a crowdfunding campaign, in the same spirit of democratizing the investment, you can invest as little as £10: https://www.crowdcube.com/bitcoinpoint
As Bitcoin enters this new phase of its development with concrete use cases, it seems that there is no limit to what it will be able to do and improve for people around the world as well as people in the UK. With the help of entrepreneurs like Marzouk and companies like BitcoinPoint, there is no limit to what Bitcoin can do for everyone!
The future of cryptocurrency is here, and Bitcoin is at the center of it!
