Low-income areas in the city of Detroit are seeing a bunch of cryptocurrency-based automated teller machines (ATM). According to local reports, ATMs are popping up in great number in liquor stores, gas stations, and cash-checking locations.
Bitcoin ATMs Thriving in Michigan's Most Populous City
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Detroit Michigan Sees a Crypto-ATM Invasion
Detroit is a well known industrial city and Michiganâs most populous city. However, the region has been dealing with a tumultuous economy and the city residents have been suffering from financial hardships for years. That hasnât stopped a large influx of bitcoin ATMs from being installed in the city as Detroit now has over 29 machines. The regional newspaper the Detroit News reveals that most of these devices reside in areas with a shortage of banks and low-income housing areas like Inkster, Highland Park, Taylor, Hamtramck, and Pontiac. There are 15 more crypto-ATMs on the outskirts of Metro Detroit as well. Ayman Rida, an executive from a company called âInternational Bitcoinâ installed a good chunk of the machines located in the Metro Detroit region.
âMy company installed 15 Bitcoin ATMs last year in Detroit,â explains Rida in an Interview. Rida says most transactions are roughly between $70-80 USD. âLast year, the business grew very, very good at the locations,â Rida adds.
Services for the Unbanked and Underbanked
Cryptocurrency proponents in the area believe the Detroit crypto-ATMs help the underbanked within the region. Although, some law-enforcement officials believe some of the action may be helping facilitate illegal activities and money laundering. A cryptocurrency researcher from a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) believes bitcoin in Detroit is probably being used for both of those theories.
âThe truth is, it could be both scenarios,â Yaya Fanusie explains. âItâs a guess because the technology is new â We need time to collect data,â
The fact that [ Bitcoin ATMs] are in the kind of areas you describe, only says how much digital currency is growing worldwide â Bitcoin has sort of grown as way to provide services to the unbanked and underbanked.
Despite the Concerns From Lawmakers Cryptocurrency Use Is Thriving in Detroit
According to the local news outlet, 14 Detroit stores in the Metro region with bitcoin ATMs were contacted, but none of the owners wanted to make a statement. The FDD researcher Fanusie doesnât believe that money laundering is a big issue for crypto-ATM owners in Detroit. Fanusie emphasizes, âThat kind of money would essentially be noticed by federal regulators â But if you want to use them to pay a local drug dealer, say $50 to $100, then maybe itâs OK, effective.â
Michigan and the Detroit region is home to quite a few bitcoiners. Besides the bitcoin ATMs, there are large Meetup groups as well. The âMichigan Bitcoinersâ Meetup has over 988 members that congregate in Detroit. The âDetroit Blockchainersâ Meetup has 488 members, and the group holds a weekly meeting in Metro Detroit where attendees can trade cryptocurrencies with other people in person.
âCome trade cryptocurrency like itâs 1792,â the Detroit Blockchainers state.
What do you think about cryptocurrency ATMs popping up in great number in the city of Detroit? Let us know in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, and the Detroit Blockchainers Meetup.
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