Sheetz adds bitcoin ATMs to 6 Pa., N. C. locations in pilot program
For people who need to fill up their gas tank and pick up a few items on the go, it will be just as easy to buy and sell bitcoin at some Sheetz locations.
Sheetz announced Tuesday that it has allowed a leading Bitcoin company — Coinsource — to install bitcoin ATM dispensers at six of its locations in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The machines, which resemble traditional bank ATMs, will give customers the ability to buy and sell digital currency with U. S. dollars within these Sheetz stores.
“This is an evolution in being the ultimate one- stop shop for our customers,” said Nick Ruffner, a spokesman for the Altoona- based convenience store chain.
The only Sheetz location in the Pittsburgh region where a Bitcoin ATM can be found is at 3025 Babcock Blvd., Ross. The others are located in Altoona, Chambersburg, Harrisburg, State College and WinstonSalem, N. C.
Other convenience stores have tested out cryptocurrency ATMs. In 2017, machines were installed at the One Stop Mini Mart in Oakland. The other is at the Quick Stop convenience store on Liberty Avenue, just outside Lawrenceville.
As cryptocurrency increases in demand, the installation of Bitcoin ATMs in Sheetz convenience stores could signal another move toward the digital currency becoming more accepted in the mainstream financial system.
But don’t expect to use bitcoin to buy coffee and doughnuts at a Sheetz gas station any time soon.
“We only accept cash, credit or debit card purchases,” Mr. Ruffner said.
The machines are intended only to make bitcoin transactions convenient for people who wish to buy or sell them for other reasons. Customers can transact as little as $ 5 and as much as $ 5,000 per day from a Coinsource ATM. To use the machines in the store, customers must enroll with Coinsource.
Bitcoin is a popular digital currency that exists outside of the traditional banking system. The price of a single bitcoin skyrocketed to a record high of $ 19,783 per bitcoin in December 2017. Bitcoin is currently priced at about $ 12,470.
But bitcoins are accepted only by a relatively small group of retail merchants, which makes the currency unreliable as an everyday form of payment. But that could be changing now that more Bitcoin ATMs are starting to appear on the landscape.
“We are extremely happy to
be partnering with a familyowned business such as Sheetz and be expanding into the markets they have their stores in,” said Derek Muhney, director of marketing and national sales for Coinsource, based in Fort Worth, Texas.
He said Coinsource owns more than 250 Bitcoin ATMs in 30 states.
“Partnering with Sheetz helps to further expand bitcoin to the everyday buyer by providing a trusted location where more and more people are able to buy and sell bitcoins with ease,” Mr. Muhney said.
Under the agreement, Coinsource will not rent space in Sheetz stores, Mr. Ruffner said. The ATMs will operate under a business-sharing model that is proprietary. Some of the machines have already been in stores for three or four weeks, others for less time.
“This is a pilot test that will look at demand,” Mr. Ruffner said. “We will try it out for a year, and if the demand is there, we will circle back in a year or so. We will keep an eye on how much the machines are used in each individual store, and based on that, we will make a decision on whether to expand it.”