Bitcoin peer-to-peer exchange Paxful is teaming up with Latin American crypto startup Coinlogiq to bring 20 new Bitcoin ATMs to Colombia.
The machines will be available in the most important cities throughout Colombia, such as Bogota (the capital) and Medellin (the country’s second most populous city), and will allow users to make transactions in BTC and fiat in a fast and convenient way—especially compared to how tedious it is to trade Bitcoin for cash.
But what really makes these ATMs stand out from the competition is the integration with Paxful Kiosk—a technology that will allow Colombians to exchange their tokens for gift cards, online transfers, debit and credit cards, among other means besides cash.
Colombia is already the country with the most crypto ATMs in Latin America. According to Coin ATM Radar, the country has 46 machines, which makes for 0.7 percent of the world's total. This new partnership will increase that proportion to more than 1 percent—and five times more than its nearest Latin American competitor, Argentina.
Paxful is Betting on Latin America
Paxful appears keenly interested in the Colombia market—and with good reason. A survey commissioned by the company a few weeks ago revealed that 80 percent of Colombians are open to investing in cryptocurrency. Maybe these results were the little push that Paxful CEO Ray Yousef needed to invest in the country’s ecosystem.
"The peer-to-peer financial revolution continues to mature in Latin America,” Magdiela Rivas, Paxful's manager for Latin America, said in a statement. “This alliance between Paxful and CoinLogiq will contribute to the adoption and acceptance of cryptocurrencies among Colombians and Latin Americans in general.”
Beyond Colombia, Paxful also intends to launch 25 more ATMs in Peru soon, which would instantly make it the country with the second-most Bitcoin ATMs in Latin America (after Colombia). Paxful, however, has yet to announce firm dates for Peru.
In Colombia, Athena is currently the dominant brand in the crypto ATM market, followed by Panda Bitcoin. But now Paxful could be setting itself up as the market leader in the region—and in record time. In Peru, the only two existing crypto ATMs are maintained by General Bytes and are located in Lima and Arequipa.
Paxful's enthusiasm for penetrating the Latin American market is evident: "Latin America has real heroes in the CoinLogiq crew,” said Youssef in a statement. “They genuinely care and are focused on real use cases. This is what makes bitcoin real and a part of people's daily lives,” he said.