Uruguay has reportedly installed its first Bitcoin (BTC) automated teller machine, making it the eleventh country in South America to publicly encourage cryptocurrency adoption. Prior to Uruguay’s participation, there were 79 ATMs in South America, which represented 0.2% of the global BTC ATM installation.
According to Ambito, Uruguay’s first crypto bank has been installed in the coastal city of Punta del Este, which is the largest tourist attraction in the region. Uruguay’s first Bitcoin ATM was designed and installed in collaboration with two local cryptocurrency companies, URUBit and inBierto.
Uruguayan ATMs currently support withdrawals and deposits of five cryptocurrencies, namely: BTC, Binance Coin (BNB), Binance USD (BUSD), Ferret Token (FRT), and Urubit (URUB). FRT and URUB are the original cryptocurrencies that are managed and distributed by URUBit and inBierto respectively.
Adolfo Varela, CEO of inBierto, confirmed that the initiative is 100% funded by the Uruguayan government. inBierto is a crypto investment platform that is also a member of the Uruguayan Chamber of Fintech (Cámara Uruguaya de Fintech), a start-up accelerator focused on the fintech sector. URUBit is a decentralized token created in Uruguay and distributed on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
Coin ATM Radar data shows that Colombia leads the South American market with 31 cryptocurrencies installed so far, followed by Brazil and Argentina with 22 and 11 installations, respectively.
Other South American countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Aruba and Saint Kitts and Nevis have also set up one cryptocurrency bank each.
inBierto has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Related Topics: Uruguayan Senator Introduces Bills Allowing Cryptocurrency Payments
Last year, a Uruguayan senator introduced a bill aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies and allowing companies to accept cryptocurrency.
As Cointelegraph reported, Senator Juan Sartori was not interested in using cryptocurrency as legal tender. Instead, suggest:
“Today we are presenting a bill aimed at establishing a legal, legal and secure use in companies associated with the production and marketing of virtual currencies in Uruguay.”
