How to buy Bitcoin at the newsagency

With just an email address, phone number and $50 in cash you can now pick up some cryptocurrency when you buy the morning paper.

Thanks to a partnership between Bitcoin Australia and payments system Blueshyft, Bitcoin and Ethereum can now be purchased from more than 1,200 newsagents around Australia.

To do this, individuals first having to download a digital wallet, and then scan a QR code at an iPad in the participating newsagents.

With a minimum purchase of $50, the company says the transaction will be completed within 20 minutes. Bitcoin Australia takes a 5 percent transaction fee from each purchase.

This is a significantly simpler process than the previous system, which involved the purchase of a barcode for the amount of Bitcoin you wanted to buy, and then taking this into a newsagency.

Bitcoin Australia CEO Rupert Hackett said making this process easier will open up the world of cryptocurrencies to more Australians.

“The fact that you can now buy Bitcoin and Ethereum from the same place you purchase soft drink and stationery really speaks to how institutionalised cryptocurrency has become,” Hackett told 9Finance.

“For anyone who has hesitated about buying Bitcoin because it all seemed too complicated, this is the perfect set-up that takes the fear factor out of investing in digital currencies.”

The infrastructure roll-out for this has been taking place since mid-2016, with Bitcoin Australia allowing for Ethereum to be purchased through the system in the previous weeks.

With the high price of Bitcoin, this alternative digital currency is becoming more popular, Hackett said.

“Traditionally, the only people who knew about Ethereum or wanted to buy it were those who already had bought Bitcoin,” he said.

“But now that cryptocurrency is more well-known we found that Ethereum’s cheaper price point made it a more digestible value proposition for buyers.”

Making it easier to purchase cryptocurrencies in the real world and not through complicated online processes will democratise the service for Australians, he said.

“When your product is totally digital it can be hard to gain trust from consumers because there’s no tangible product being handed over,” Hackett said.

“Using newsagents provides consumers with a convenient and trusted way for investors to buy cryptocurrency.”