Decentral to Sell Bitcoin in Retail Stores Across Canada
Canadian decentralized technologies hub Decentral will soon enable citizens across Canada to easily purchase bitcoin, the innovation hub revealed in an announcement today.
Toronto-based innovation and disruption hub Decentral has announced a new series of ‘bitcoin cards’ that can be purchased at local retail stores nationwide.
The Decentral Bitcoin Cards will be available for buyers in denominations of $20, $50 and $100. The cards fundamentally work like a gift card, pre-loaded with fiat cash. Buyers can then redeem the cards for bitcoin via Decentral’s website.
As an innovation hub, Decentral provides blockchain and fintech consultancy services and has previously installed a two-way Bitcoin ATM.
The bitcoin cards were originally trialed throughout 2014 before tweaked for launch in 2015. In a statement, Decentral founder and CEO Anthony Di Iorio spoke about the convenience that cards can bring for new bitcoin adopters.
The Cards remove the hassles and technical issues associated with installing, maintaining and using terminals or ATMS.
Our new system can be scaled quickly to new locations without the existing roadblocks and complicated logistics common to Bitcoin ATMs.
The announcement notes select Canadian provinces targeted for launch of the cards later this month. Decentral claims the cards will be available nationwide across retail stores in Canada before the end of summer.
Furthermore, Decentral also revealed plans to offer Ethereum and other alternate currencies in exchange for fiat Canadian dollars in retail locations before the end of 2016.
By starting with the bitcoin ATM and expanding to essentially sell bitcoin-for-cash in retail stores across the country, the plan is to increase bitcoin adoption and availability, according to Di Iorio.
We’ve helped thousands of customers purchase bitcoin at our bitcoin ATM in Toronto, and our goal has always been to increase availability across Canada.
Based on the knowledge we’ve gained over the years, we’ve developed a system that makes buying bitcoin as easy and convenient as possible for both customers and merchants.
