India’s cryptocurrency Exchange Unocoin has launched a Cryptocurrency ATM or Kiosk which allows people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies by deposit and withdrawal of cash in and from the machine. Customers of Unocoin or Unodax are allowed to deposit or withdraw a minimum of Rs 1000 (INR) and a maximum of Rs 10,000 (INR) per transaction in a day.
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The finance ministry of India banned banks and financial institutions from allowing bitcoin or cryptocurrency related transactions in February this year after which the exchanges such as Unocoin and Zebpay were forced to shut down their operations, Unocoin has come up with a solution to this challenge by launching a cryptocurrency ATM service or Kiosk service which doesn’t need a collaboration with any national bank and lets the customers buy or sell cryptocurrencies easily with cash.
The first Unocoin ATM Machine has been set up in a mall in Bengaluru, also know as the Silicon Valley of India. The machine has been manufactured by an ATM manufacturer NCR. The ATM machine is similar to any ordinary bank ATM with just some modifications such as no debit/credit card slot.
How does it work?
The customers of Unocoin or Unodax Exchange are allowed to deposit or withdraw a minimum of Rs 1000 (INR) to a maximum of Rs 10000 (INR) per transaction in a day. Only the denomination of Rs 500 notes are allowed to be deposited or withdrawn from the ATM at the moment. Unocoin Exchange only allows the dealing with Etheruem Cryptocurrency while Unodax allows deals in more than 30 other cryptocurrencies as well. So the customers of both Unocoin and Unodax Exchange can at anytime withdraw the amount of cash they want from the cryptocurrencies they hold in their Unocoin or Unodax Account.
Not much effect of the cryptocurrency ban on the trading volumes
The CEO of Unocoin or Unodax Exchange, Sathvik Viswanath told the Times of India ” We have a customer base of 13 lakh users and we are hoping that this step will ease the pain points of the customers after the ban”.
Viswanath also told that despite the cryptocurrency ban in India, his platform has seen an 18% user growth since then.
In the 2018-19 Budget speech in India, the Finance Minister of India had announced that the government does not consider cryptocurrency as legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate the use of such cryptocurrencies in financing illegitimate activities or as a part of the payment system.
On this statement, Unocoin founder responds to as: “The finance minister’s statement was very clear. He said cryptocurrencies are not legal tender but he did not say that they are illegal tender”
Will the launch of cryptocurrency ATM’s in India boost the bitcoin or cryptocurrency prices by helping to mainstream cryptocurrencies? What do you think? Tell us in the comments section below.
