Neil Bergquist: CEO at Coinme Explains How their Company Makes Bitcoin (BTC) Accessible for Everyone

We recently connected with Neil Bergquist, CEO at Coinme, a crypto firm that’s focused on serving retail investors.

Coinme offers on-the-ground access to purchase/sell Bitcoin (BTC) with cash through the Coinstar and MoneyGram. During our conversation, Neil talked about what people should consider when looking at their cryptocurrency portfolios and how the industry can do a better job at educating consumers about cryptocurrency.

He also commented on some of the newly proposed legislation in the US that recommends monitoring crypto transactions more carefully for tax collection purposes.

Our discussion is shared below.

Crowdfund Insider: What are the main products and services that Coinme provides and how do they benefit the end-consumer or even a business?

Neil Bergquist: Coinme is the largest licensed cryptocurrency cash network in the U.S. We offer an enterprise API that crypto-enables legacy financial services, allowing them to seamlessly provide the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies with cash to customers. In addition, through our partnerships with Coinstar and MoneyGram, we have over 17,000 locations nationwide, located at convenient places people often frequent – grocery stores, pharmacies, and retail check cashing locations.

Coinme makes bitcoin accessible to everyone. Crypto can be difficult to access for those transacting primarily in cash. Online exchanges require a bank account or credit/debit card, prohibitive to the underbanked or unbanked. Purely digital exchanges can also be intimidating to those who are not tech-savvy.

Coinme reaches these underserved populations by providing easy-to-use and trusted access to crypto with cash. Additionally, a person purchasing bitcoin for the first time with Coinme doesn’t need to research how to set up a separate wallet solution to store bitcoin. After purchase, the bitcoin is instantly loaded to the Coinme Wallet accessible via the Coinme app or website.

Crowdfund Insider: What are your thoughts on some of the proposed new legislation which asks that crypto transactions be monitored more carefully for tax collection purposes?

Neil Bergquist: Coinme prides itself on setting the industry bar when it comes to our focus on regulatory rigor and compliance. As governments pay more mind to crypto and provide more regulatory clarity, we embrace this as part of our customer relationship.

If any government requires us to learn more about our customers, it’s something we’ve already contemplated and implemented or are in the process of implementing. We’re here to give an amazing customer experience through an innovative product. To do that, we need to know who our customer is to deliver the best service possible.

Crowdfund Insider: Coinme is a great example of a company that is making Bitcoin more accessible. How will this support greater financial inclusion and awareness?

Neil Bergquist: It’s important to note that 75 million Americans rely on cash or cash-like products to transact in their everyday lives. By making cash points of entry to bitcoin available, we ensure that these people are also included in the greatest wealth transfer of our lifetime.

Increasing the number of trusted cash-to-bitcoin onramps and offramps will positively affect cryptocurrency adoption. Our network of Coinstar bitcoin-enabled kiosks and MoneyGram locations achieve this because they offer an easy and convenient cash access point for the millions of Americans interested in bitcoin and who might not own any yet. It’s accessible and trusted solutions like these that will help people adopt crypto.

The crypto industry has always worked towards mass adoption and mitigating the adverse effects of our current economic system. A considerable part of this is paying mind to educating consumers about how cryptocurrency works and how they can use it beyond basic awareness. As an industry, we should ensure that crypto can work for any investor, whether novice or experienced and that everyone has essential comprehension and literacy of the benefits of crypto.

Crowdfund Insider: BTC payments are criticized for being too slow and costly. As a personal user of these currencies, I used to get paid in Bitcoin a few years back, however, people are no longer willing to send BTC payments because they are too costly in terms of transaction fees.

Instead, I receive stablecoins such as USDT or USDC. How is this problem being addressed and what does Coinme as a business do to accommodate these challenges?

Neil Bergquist: In weeks that followed the Chinese government’s crackdown on bitcoin miners, we saw a spike in fees followed by a rapid decrease as they stabilized. Now that we see those miners relocate and begin operating outside of China, the fee has decreased to around $2.00 currently. The price increase was a temporary reaction, and we see the cost to send bitcoin go down to normal levels.

In response to the rising fees, Coinme enabled batched sends on our network to spread the fees across transactions. It allowed us to lower the send fees customers pay and saved them money. We also published articles to educate our users on what the fees are and why they exist, in order to support the bitcoin network itself.

During the most recent spike and others going forward, the industry should be transparent to consumers about fees and the reasons behind them. As we recently witnessed, external factors such as governments and other industry actions affect fees. Therefore, all companies with crypto offerings should be honest with their customers and educate them about the reasons for fee increases.

In the future, innovations such as the Lightning Network will enable bitcoin transactions to be processed faster for a fraction of the cost. We’re only twelve years into the birth of bitcoin and blockchain technology and new applications like the Lightning Network and Coinme’s batch sends will enable a better overall user experience for using bitcoin for payments.

Crowdfund Insider: What are your plans for the remainder of this year and 2022?

Neil Bergquist: Coinme plans to expand to more locations in the U.S. and internationally through our partnerships with Coinstar and MoneyGram. Additionally, we are looking into offering other cryptocurrencies for purchase or sale with cash.



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