Uruguay has received its reported first cryptocurrency ATM in its territory, which is already installed in Punta del Este, a city located in the southeast of the country. Two national crypto companies developed the cryptocurrency machine: Urubit and Inbierto. The former focused on the software part of the system, and the latter provided the hardware for the ATM. Crypto ATMs are now being installed in more and more countries as bitcoin continues to go mainstream. 

Crypto ATMs are said to eliminate the possibility of being a victim of scams.

Adolfo Varela, Inbierto’s CEO, states that one of the aims of this machine is to create trust in the cryptocurrency market in the country, where most crypto commerce happens in peer-to-peer markets that cannot go through banking due to lack of regulations. With a cryptocurrency ATM, the possibility of being a victim of a scam is said to be eliminated. Varela believes they will keep growing and extending their crypto ATM network across the country. 

The installed crypto ATM supports only five cryptocurrencies.

The installed crypto ATM currently supports only five cryptocurrencies (which include two national tokens): ferret token, urubit, bitcoin, binance coin (BNB), and binance USD (BUSD). The companies have not introduced Ethereum support to the machines because they rely on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to process transactions. Varela explained that Ethereum’s fees would deter users from using the machine, and that’s why BSC integration was opted for instead. Varela said, “We intend to continue growing in Maldonado, then Colonia, Montevideo, and by the end of the year, we want to have coverage throughout the national territory. With this, it has happened to us that other countries have consulted us to be able to install it.”