Greeks Want to Install Thousands of Bitcoin ATMs to Evade Capital Controls

On the evening of the 19th, Beijing time, according to CNBC, the Greek Bitcoin exchange BTCGreece said on Wednesday that it plans to cooperate with the European Bitcoin trading platform Cubits to install Bitcoin ATMs in Greece starting in October. The ultimate goal is to install 1,000 machines across the country to help Greek residents and businesses circumvent capital controls.

BTCGreece founder Thanos Marinos told CNBC in an interview that the move is part of his desire to create a blockchain ecosystem in Greece, and if all goes as expected, the first Bitcoin ATM will be launched in October this year.

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that can be used worldwide. All Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a shared public ledger called a block chain.

The digital currency has been touted as a way to circumvent Greece’s capital controls, which the government has imposed since June and have limited domestic investors to 60 euros a day from banks, making life difficult for businesses that need to pay or receive bills. Greek residents and businesses are also banned from sending money to bank accounts abroad.

The Bitcoin ATMs envisioned by Marinos would allow users to exchange fiat currencies for Bitcoin and vice versa. So far, BTCGreece has not installed any Bitcoin ATMs in Greece, but Marinos said he has received requests from 300 stores to install such machines.

“We want to proceed with caution,” he said, adding that BTCGreece will announce more partnerships next week.

Bitcoin prices surged in June amid reports that Greeks were buying the currency to circumvent capital controls, though the decentralized nature of bitcoin makes it hard to tell how many Greeks are using it.

Prior to this, Bitcoin ATMs had already appeared in other countries, mainly in the United States, as well as Western European countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain.