By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Retail giant Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) has begun hosting bitcoin ATMs in dozens of its U.S. stores, according to a report from Coindesk.
The article on the Coindesk website stated that Walmart customers can purchase bitcoin from the Coinstar machines inside the company's large stores. Coindesk said it has verified that the machines work by buying a small amount of BTC.
Walmart's communications director Molly Blakeman said it was a pilot program with Coinme, which calls itself the largest cryptocurrency network.
Blakeman added that there are 200 Coinstar booths positioned inside Walmart stores in the U.S.
Coinstar is an American company that operates coin-cashing machines where you can exchange coins for notes. Through the partnership with crypto firm Coinme, they have built the ability for users to purchase bitcoin through the ATMs.
Users select the bitcoin option on the Coinstar machine, enter paper money, and receive a voucher with a bitcoin redemption code. They can then visit the Coinme site, create an account and redeem the BTC.