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== Early History == |
== Early History == |
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In 2013, co-founders Neil Bergquist and Michael Smyers learned about the world’s first successful bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, BC. At the time, Bergquist was running SURF Incubator located in Seattle, WA. After learning of the [[bitcoin]] ATM’s success in Vancouver, Michael, on an impulse, purchased three of the ATM machines from the manufacturer. |
In 2013, co-founders Neil Bergquist and Michael Smyers learned about the world’s first successful bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, BC. At the time, Bergquist was running SURF Incubator located in Seattle, WA. After learning of the [[bitcoin]] ATM’s success in Vancouver, Michael, on an impulse, purchased three of the ATM machines from the manufacturer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The future of the digital economy — News |url=https://willamette.edu/news/library/2019/02/digital-economy-future.html |access-date=2022-03-27 |website=willamette.edu}}</ref> |
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The two began working with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions to revise state finance laws to incorporate cryptocurrency and secure a license to operate a kiosk. The three pilot kiosks were situated in the greater Seattle area. One in Spitfire Grill in Belltown, another, in Startup Hall at the University of Washington, and the third at Southcenter Mall south of Seattle. |
The two began working with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions to revise state finance laws to incorporate cryptocurrency and secure a license to operate a kiosk. The three pilot kiosks were situated in the greater Seattle area. One in Spitfire Grill in Belltown, another, in Startup Hall at the University of Washington, and the third at Southcenter Mall south of Seattle.<ref name=":0" /> |
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== Bitcoin ATM == |
== Bitcoin ATM == |
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Coinme was formally established in 2014 with Bergquist as CEO and Smyers as vice president of engineering. They deployed and operated nearly 70 [[Bitcoin ATM]]<nowiki/>s across the Western United States before developing an application programming interface (API) for converting ATMs and kiosks into crypto-exchanging machines. The company initially built its own ATMs for exchanging bitcoin but found success retrofitting legacy systems for existing ATM networks. |
Coinme was formally established in 2014 with Bergquist as CEO and Smyers as vice president of engineering. They deployed and operated nearly 70 [[Bitcoin ATM]]<nowiki/>s across the Western United States before developing an application programming interface (API) for converting ATMs and kiosks into crypto-exchanging machines. The company initially built its own ATMs for exchanging bitcoin but found success retrofitting legacy systems for existing ATM networks. |
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The first state licensed Bitcoin ATM in the United States was installed by Coinme at the Spitfire Grill in Seattle, Washington in the spring of 2014. The company later installed a bitcoin-enabled ATM in the Spokane Valley Mall and became the first licensed company in the state of Washington to offer digital currency through ATMs. |
The first state licensed Bitcoin ATM in the United States was installed by Coinme at the Spitfire Grill in Seattle, Washington in the spring of 2014. The company later installed a bitcoin-enabled ATM in the Spokane Valley Mall and became the first licensed company in the state of Washington to offer digital currency through ATMs. |
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Revision as of 23:19, 27 March 2022
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| Company type | Software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software and technology services |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
Key people | Neil Bergquist, CEO and Co-Founder |
| Total equity | $38 million |
Number of employees | 58 |
Coinme
Coinme is a financial technology company and U.S. licensed cryptocurrency exchange that develops an API to enable legacy financial systems, such as automatic teller machines (ATMs) and coin-cashing kiosks to convert cryptocurrency into cash. The company launched one of the first licensed bitcoin ATMs in the U.S.
Early History
In 2013, co-founders Neil Bergquist and Michael Smyers learned about the world’s first successful bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, BC. At the time, Bergquist was running SURF Incubator located in Seattle, WA. After learning of the bitcoin ATM’s success in Vancouver, Michael, on an impulse, purchased three of the ATM machines from the manufacturer.[1]
The two began working with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions to revise state finance laws to incorporate cryptocurrency and secure a license to operate a kiosk. The three pilot kiosks were situated in the greater Seattle area. One in Spitfire Grill in Belltown, another, in Startup Hall at the University of Washington, and the third at Southcenter Mall south of Seattle.[1]
Bitcoin ATM
Coinme was formally established in 2014 with Bergquist as CEO and Smyers as vice president of engineering. They deployed and operated nearly 70 Bitcoin ATMs across the Western United States before developing an application programming interface (API) for converting ATMs and kiosks into crypto-exchanging machines. The company initially built its own ATMs for exchanging bitcoin but found success retrofitting legacy systems for existing ATM networks.
The first state licensed Bitcoin ATM in the United States was installed by Coinme at the Spitfire Grill in Seattle, Washington in the spring of 2014. The company later installed a bitcoin-enabled ATM in the Spokane Valley Mall and became the first licensed company in the state of Washington to offer digital currency through ATMs.
As of June 2021, Coinme employed 58 people and had raised more than $30 million in investment capital. Coinme investors include Xpring, Blockchain.com Ventures, Pantera Capital, Digital Currency Group and MoneyGram International. At the end of 2021, the company was in the latter stages of completing the necessary filings to operate in all U.S. states as a money transfer license (MTL) holder.
In January 2022 the company named Tom Davis, a former IBM executive and FBI special agent, as its first general counsel In February 2022, Brian Reisbeck joined the company as chief compliance officer.
Coinstar
Coinstar partnered with Coinme in 2019 to enable consumers to purchase bitcoin at existing Coinstar kiosks. Coinme-enabled Coinstar machines expanded to a number of states including Connecticut where more than 90 machines were placed in Stop & Shop and Big Y supermarkets.cCoinstar and Coinme announced in October 2021 that Walmart would be putting 200 of the Coinstar-enabled bitcoin kiosks in its stores. By January of 2022, more than 7,000 Coinme-enabled Coinstar kiosks were operating in 48 U.S. states including Alaska, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida.
MoneyGram
Payments and money transfer company MoneyGram partnered with Coinme in 2021 to allow customers to load cash into, or out of, bitcoin wallets using MoneyGram's mobile payments platform. As part of the relationship, Coinme users will be able to buy crypto with cash or withdraw it from select MoneyGram retail locations in the U.S.
External Links
- ^ a b "The future of the digital economy — News". willamette.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-27.