Croatian Startup Places First Bitcoin ATM in Greece & Attracts Interest from Silicon Valley
- by croatiaweek
- in Business
One of the biggest startup incubators in Silicon Valley – Plug and Play Tech Center – is interested in cooperating with Croatian Bitcoin project Bspend, who placed the first Bitcoin ATM in Greece midst the recent debt crisis drama…
When Greece closed its banks and ATM withdrawals were limited to 60 euros per day, Croatian company Bspend seized the opportunity and placed the first Bitcoin ATM in Greece in a bookstore in Athens on June 24. The ATM has a buy-only and daily limit of 1,000 euros.
“There are 5 million people and they are having serious economic problems. The hardest part of launching the first Bitcoin ATM in Greece was finding a location. Merchants are risk averse to a government action against their business since regulation has not yet been created,” said Bspend co-founder Vedran Kajic.
After attracting media attention over the globe for their move, Kajic told Poslovni daily that they have received offers of co-operation from California. Incubator Plug and Play Tech Center have so far supported around 1,200 startups around the globe to the tune of over one billion dollars.
Bspend, who have also had interest from Vietnam to place machines there, say that they want to place one more Bitcoin ATM in Athens, this time right in the heart of the centre.
