Media Markt set to install Bitcoin ATMs in Austria 1

TL; DR Breakdown

• Media Markt plans installation of Bitcoin ATMs in Austria
• The company will install the ATMs in 12 locations
• Retail companies are entering the crypto market

With Bitcoin gaining more ground in the financial market, there has been a surge in those that want to adopt the digital asset. Aside from being used for trading purposes, Bitcoin is now working for the greater good, serving as a payment medium. To this effect, Germany originated electronics chain of companies Media Markt has announced plans to install 12 Bitcoin ATMs across its stores in Austria. With this, the firm’s customers will be able to buy Bitcoin from machines made by Kurant.

Media Markt will install the ATMs in 12 branches

Some years ago, Media Markt was mulling the idea of installing one Bitcoin ATM in its branch located in Vienna. Presently, the firm will do so in 11 other branches where its stores are located. The said vending machine currently owns about 200 across the European Union.

In his opinion, the MD of Kurant mentioned that this new approach would push retail traders to hold and trade more digital assets. He positioned that with the ATMs across Europe, they would be able to pay for their retail products with BTC. Media Markt has attained much success judging that the company has more than 1,000 branches across strategic locations in Europe. Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland are some of its top locations.

Retail companies are moving to crypto

The company has also been doing well from a revenue standpoint, amassing a total revenue of more than $22 million across 2021. However, the company suffered a breach from bad actors who demanded more than $240 million before releasing their compromised data. Later, the ransom was reduced to about $50 million in the leading digital asset. Following the same line, retail firms across Europe have been moving towards crypto in the last few months. Some of the few companies that have adopted crypto include Croatia-based Konzum, which offered clients options to pay in different assets, including USDT and ETH.

Electrocoin, another big tech firm in the country, facilitates its crypto payments. The crypto firm allows traders to buy products at a fixed rate while facilitating transactions. Besides Europe, another firm that has entered this bandwagon is the Elektra group. The company’s customers were allowed to pay fees in Bitcoin instead of the usual fiat currency. In order to facilitate payments, the company inked a deal with Bitpay to this effect. However, the organization warns that traders should be careful of the risks associated with dealing with digital assets.