Australia Sets Up Buying BTC and ETH Over the Counter at 1,200 Newsagents

Australians will be able to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum as easy as buying a newspaper

Thu, 1/03/2018 - 14:06

Australia Sets Up Buying BTC and ETH Over the Counter at 1,200 Newsagents

Cover image via U.Today

At 1,200 newsagents across Australia, people will be able to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum over the counter. All that is needed to buy the digital currencies is cash, a phone number and an email address.

A minimum of AUD$50 will need to be spent for people to acquire the digital currency, but it is indicative of the popularity and adoption that is sweeping the Bitcoin-friendly country.

Ongoing process

The Bitcoin adoption wave in Australia has steadily been growing, and it is partly thanks to the company behind this latest venture to get cryptocurrencies in to local newsagents.

The service is being provided by cryptocurrency exchange bitcoin.com.au, which has been rolling out in-store Bitcoin buying infrastructure since the middle of 2016.

Bitcoin.com.au CEO Rupert Hackett said the primary challenge of selling cryptocurrency within a physical retail store was gaining the trust of consumers.

"When your product is totally digital it can be hard to gain trust from consumers because there's no tangible product being handed over," Hackett told 9Finance.

"Using newsagents provides consumers with a convenient and trusted way for investors to buy cryptocurrency."

Ethereum’s ease

Of course, Bitcoin’s adoption has been a double-edged sword with the coin experiencing a boom in interest, but, as a gateway coin into cryptocurrency, its price often daunted people.

"Traditionally, the only people who knew about Ethereum or wanted to buy it were those who already had bought Bitcoin," said Hackett.

"But now that cryptocurrency is more well-known we found that Ethereum's cheaper price point made it a more digestible value proposition for buyers."

About the author

Darryn Pollock

Darryn Pollock is an award winning journalist from Durban, South Africa. He picked up Vodacom’s Regional Sports Journalist Award in 2017 while expanding his Blockchain and cryptocurrency reach. He is a contributor to Forbes, Cointelegraph, Binary District, and of course, U.Today. Darryn’s belief is that Blockchain technology will be the driving force of the next technological wave and it is the obligation of journalists and writers to tell its emerging story with integrity and pride.