ESTEVAN - Not one, but two cryptocurrency ATMs were installed in Estevan in a matter of one week.
One was put in at the Pharmasave by HoneyBadger out of Vancouver last week. The other one was brought into the Royal Heights Esso service station by QuickBit, a Saskatchewan Crypto company out of Regina, around the same time.
QuickBit ATM currently allows people to buy some of the most popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoins, Ethereum and 24 others for cash directly from QuickBit's Bitcoin ATM. On April 1, the company's CEO Leander McLean was on location for an ATM/education day, teaching residents how to use the new machine and educating them about the world of cryptocurrencies in general.
"There's anything from Tether to Bitcoin to Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin … There are lots of options," McLean said.
The cryptocurrencies they offer are within the top 100 on the market. The system is constantly updated, and more currency options are coming soon, he added.
Launching an ATM in Estevan was a natural step for the company trying to serve people in the province to the best of its ability.
"We've noticed that people from Weyburn and Estevan had been coming to Regina to use the cryptocurrency ATMs. Lots of people were coming from Estevan and calling asking, 'How do I use this from Estevan?' They came from Estevan to use the ATM, so this was the next step in a natural progression," McLean explained.
He noted that the demand for cryptocurrencies has been steadily growing, and so have been the opportunities to use them.
"There's a lot of demand. Bitcoins are coming into the mainstream media more and more. We're hearing of it more and more. People are using it more and more. Stores are starting to accept it. Lots of online stores are accepting it nowadays. So it's growing very rapidly. The use for it is growing rapidly as well," McLean said.
Quickbit Vending Systems Inc. was founded in 2014 in Regina. Quickbit's objective was to be the first to launch Regina's Bitcoin Automated Teller Machine or BTM; their first opened in July 2014.
They also launched the first BTM in Moose Jaw in 2017. Since then, they have grown to six BTMs in Regina, and four more across southern Saskatchewan. In August 2021, they opened Saskatchewan's first Crypto Store, where people can buy hardware wallets and crypto accessories, get educated on the technology and purchase and sell Bitcoin.
"If you're interested in learning about Bitcoin, or you don't know what you're doing, and you just need some advice, you can come to us and we can teach you about the technology," McLean said.
Being a Saskatchewan business, QuickBit puts the interests of the local customers first and is trying to cover the province.
"We really pride ourselves and focus ourselves to serve Saskatchewan … But we hope to grow as big as we can," McLean said.
He added that most people use cryptocurrency as investments, and that's why they decided to go with a buy-only type of machine in Estevan. The BTM is really easy to use, but if people need help there is a number right on the machine and business cards on side of it, so people could phone QuickBit for help.
"If anyone has questions or wants to learn about cryptocurrency, they can feel free to reach out to us. We have a good Q&A page on our website that has lots of typical questions that people ask. And, of course, you can email us through there and you can get a hold of us on any of our social media. All our social media tags are just QuickBit Crypto, so it's easy to remember. Don't hesitate to reach out. We're always here," McLean said.
For more on the company and the services they offer, people can go to thecryptoboutique.ca.
Another cryptocurrency ATM was installed at Pharmasave in late March. Pharmasave had HoneyBadger ATMs installed at about 20 locations and liked having it, so Estevan followed in their steps.
HoneyBadger promotes itself as Canada's most secure Bitcoin network, providing residents fast and convenient access to cryptocurrency. Estevan's machine allows residents to buy and sell three of the most popular cryptocurrencies, which are Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. And the goal behind the ATM was to make it as simple as possible for customers to get into the world of cryptocurrencies.
"We believe in making Bitcoin accessible to everyone," explained HoneyBadger CEO Rob Spurgeon. "As Bitcoin becomes more mainstream, we want to ensure that people in every town and local community have access and are able to participate in it."
People can also sell their cryptocurrency through this ATM, sending as much as they want to the company and withdrawing cash, like they would at a regular ATM. The company's content marketing specialist Lewis Dyson said HoneyBadger is the only Bitcoin ATM company in Canada that can sell cryptocurrency at every single one of their machines.
Since 2016, HoneyBadger has been working to make Bitcoin readily available to all Canadians. The company now has grown to more than 190 kiosks across Canada, with Estevan as the latest location added to that list. After setting up a digital wallet – for as little as five dollars and a mobile phone – users can visit the HoneyBadger kiosk to start buying and selling offered cryptocurrencies within minutes.
Cryptocurrency allows users to make payments and exchange digital currency instantaneously across the globe, and it's not as complicated as some might think, Dyson said.
"It's a currency that works on the Internet, so it enables people to send value to other people. It's a lot like sending an email, it works anywhere on earth, and it doesn't matter where you are or what country you're in," Spurgeon described it.
"Estevan is in a relatively untapped region where we see major growth potential. Opening our latest machine here also aligns with our aim of making Bitcoin available in all parts of Canada."
To learn about the HoneyBadger Bitcoin ATMs, visit www.badgercoin.com.
