Jump to content

Coinme

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by GhostDust (talk | contribs) at 00:29, 28 March 2022 (GhostDust moved page User:GhostDust/sandbox to Coinme: new article). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Coinme, Inc.
Company typeSoftware
IndustrySoftware and technology services
Founded2014
FounderNeil Bergquist and Michael Smyers
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington
Key people
Neil Bergquist, CEO
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[2] 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[3] with Bergquist as CEO[4] and Smyers as vice president of engineering.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

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[8] and MoneyGram International.[9]  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.[10]

In January 2022 the company named Tom Davis,[11] a former IBM executive and FBI special agent, as its first general counsel. [12] In February 2022, Brian Reisbeck joined the company as chief compliance officer.[13] [14]

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.[15] Coinstar and Coinme announced in October 2021 that Walmart would be putting 200 of the Coinstar-enabled bitcoin kiosks in its stores.[16] By January of 2022, more than 7,000 Coinme-enabled Coinstar kiosks were operating in 48 U.S. states including Alaska,[17] Pennsylvania,[18] North Carolina,[19] and Florida.[20]

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.[21]  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.[22]

Awards and Rankings

  • The Puget Sound Business Journal ranked the company first on its list of fastest growing private companies (2021).[23]
  • Seattle Business Magazine "100 Best Companies to Work For in Washington State" (2021).[24]
  • Inc. 5000 Regionals ranked the company #9 on its list of fasted growing companies (2022).[25]
  • Built-In 100 Best Remote Companies to Work For (2022).[26]

Company website

References

  1. ^ a b "The future of the digital economy — News". willamette.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  2. ^ Banse, Tom (2018-10-24). "Belltown Bar Back From The Future With A Bitcoin ATM". kuow.org. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  3. ^ "Coinme - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  4. ^ "Neil Bergquist, Coinme, Inc". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  5. ^ "Michael Smyers - Crunchbase Person Profile". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  6. ^ "Coinme, a Seattle startup that is 'crypto-enabling' legacy financial services, raises $10M". GeekWire. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  7. ^ "Seattle company installs bitcoin ATM at the Spokane Valley Mall | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  8. ^ Stirling, Stephen. "Coinme raises $10M led by Digital Currency Group". The Street Crypto: Bitcoin and cryptocurrency news, advice, analysis and more. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  9. ^ Webber, Daniel. "MoneyGram's Post-Acquisition Plans: CEO Alex Holmes On Digital, Crypto And Beyond". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  10. ^ "CFO touts controller role as crypto-enabler expands footprint". CFO Dive. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  11. ^ "Cash-to-Crypto Company Picks Former IBM Exec as First GC". Corporate Counsel. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  12. ^ "Coinme hires former FBI agent to keep up with 'rapidly evolving' regulation". CityAM. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  13. ^ Lyudvig, Anna (2022-02-28). "ON THE MOVE: Sal Arnuk to Virtu Financial; CalPERS Adds Nicole Musicco". Traders Magazine. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  14. ^ "Coinme names ex-Robinhood exec Brian Reisback as chief compliance officer | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  15. ^ Stacom, Don. "Coinstar bringing bitcoin buying to grocery stores across Connecticut". courant.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  16. ^ "Cash is no longer king in the U.S., but will it ever go away?". American Banker. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  17. ^ "Bitcoin-Enabled Coinstar Kiosks Come to Alaska". Progressive Grocer. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  18. ^ Napsha, Joe (2022-01-23). "Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies growing in popularity as ATMs sprout up across Pittsburgh region". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  19. ^ "Bitcoin & groceries: In NC you can now exchange cash for cryptocurrency at some stores | WRAL TechWire". wraltechwire.com. 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  20. ^ "Coinme Launches 300 Bitcoin-Enabled Kiosks in Florida After Securing Financial License". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  21. ^ Marino, Kate (2021-08-11). "MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes says the pandemic accelerated digital innovation". Axios. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  22. ^ Browne, Ryan (2021-05-12). "MoneyGram to let cryptocurrency holders cash in their investments". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  23. ^ Storer, Mark (November 25, 2021). "Coinme is growing and 'hiring aggressively in all parts of the business'". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  24. ^ "100 Best Companies To Work For 2021: Midsize". Seattle Business Magazine. 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  25. ^ "Meet the 150 Economic All-Stars of the Pacific". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  26. ^ "100 Best Remote Companies to Work For 2022 | Built In". builtin.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Coinme&oldid=1079664682"