You can now buy Bitcoin and Ethereum at 1,200 newsagents in Australia
Aussies can now buy cryptocurrency at the newsagent, with just a phone and email address. $50 minimum.
Do you want to buy at least $50 worth of bitcoin or Ethereum? Do you want to pick up a Women's Weekly and a cold drink to go with it? You're in luck. Bitcoin.com.au has rolled out to over 1,200 newsagencies around Australia, letting almost anyone pick up crypto just down the road. It's been available for a while, but this marks a significant expansion of its available locations.
How does it work?
Like this.
Source: Bitcoin.com.au
What you're looking at there is someone handing over cash. Specifically two twenties and probably a pair of fivers. They must be going with the $50 minimum. The newsagent then taps the appropriate buttons and does their thing on their mini iPad, and prepares it to scan a QR code. To receive the bitcoin or Ethereum, the cryptocurrency buyer just lets the iPad scan their QR code.
That QR code is automatically generated by a mobile cryptocurrency wallet. These are just downloadable apps, available on the App Store. Apologies to anyone hoping for something more dramatic, but you could literally download and install the wallet while waiting in line at the newsagent.
In most cases, they're designed to be easy, and once the wallet is set up generating your QR code, it's as easy as just following the prompts.
How to get your wallet and QR code
This service lets you buy either bitcoin or Ethereum, so you'll have to make sure you choose a wallet that can hold the correct cryptocurrency.
For bitcoin only, one of the most user friendly options is probably a wallet called Bread. The main downside is that it can only hold bitcoin.
If you're interested in both bitcoin and Ethereum, or want the option of holding many different kinds of cryptocurrencies, a multi-currency wallet might be preferable. Coinomi is one of the more popular multi-currency options, but at this stage, it's for Android phones only.
Just what am I meant to do with bitcoin? Why would I buy it?
At this stage mostly just to feel cool. Maybe some minor bragging rights, depending on which circles you move in. Perhaps you'd buy it for the same reason people buy lotto tickets at newsagents.
It's not entirely useless though. There are dozens of stores around Australia that accept bitcoin as payment. If you buy some bitcoin, its price goes up and you end up spending it at one of those stores, it's kind of like free money. Free money that you purchased for at least $50 including 5% commission because the future is wild.
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author holds ETH, IOTA, ICX, VEN, XLM, SALT, BTC, NANO
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Picture: Shutterstock
