Last updated on January 7th, 2022
by Eric Pereira /content creator
Coin Cloud founder and CEO Chris McAlary told The Shelby Report the Las Vegas-based company is about to install its 600th Digital Currency Machine for United Natural Foods Inc.
These DCMs allow customers to buy more than 40 different kinds of digital currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin with cash or card.
The company announced earlier this year that it had installed DCMs in 500 UNFI customer stores and McAlary expects there to be many more.
“Consumers love being able to purchase [and sell] digital assets in their neighborhood grocery stores,” McAlary said. “Customers now have access to Bitcoin and other digital currencies in a place they shop regularly.
“Our partnership with UNFI is strong and exciting, and we’re looking forward to growing with them. We expect to be in thousands of UNFI locations in the future.”
Coin Cloud currently has more than 4,500 digital currency machines in grocery retailers, wholesalers and convenience stores. This includes chains such as ACE Cash Express, H-E-B, Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods, UNFI customer stores and Yesway.
“We’re proud to offer insights that have helped our retail partners better serve their customers. For example, we offer access to digital currency in 40-plus languages and can see how often each language is selected,” McAlary said.
The machines also have provided unexpected customer insight.
“We discovered that one of our retail partners had a significantly high percentage of customers selecting Vietnamese as their language of choice. So based on our feedback, this retailer added Vietnamese SKUs to their inventory to better serve the customers,” he said.
Asked why a grocer should consider installing a Coin Cloud DCM, McAlary noted that the digital currency market is evolving quickly. Retailers must have the flexibility to provide the services customers want today, as well as those they’ll need in the future.
“That’s why Coin Cloud is the easiest way for retailers to begin serving the digital currency consumer who demands more than just Bitcoin,” he said.
“Our technology roadmap goes well beyond Bitcoin and includes NFT (Non Fungible Tokens), Smart Contract coins, DeFi tokens, Gaming tokens, Social tokens and Stablecoins. We serve existing customers while also attracting a generation of consumers who otherwise may never shop in traditional brick and mortar stores.”
Coin Cloud is the only national operator that can convert digital currencies into cash at every location, according to McAlary. Therefore, every retailer with a Coin Cloud DCM gives its customers the ability to turn digital assets into cash to spend in store, even if it isn’t accepted directly at POS.
McAlary mentioned the number of retailers offering digital currency solutions also is growing every day.
“Many are using third-party integrations to accomplish this goal. An example would be the Dash token, which is available on our kiosks,” he said. “Dash Direct allows their token to be instantly converted into retailer gift cards that are accepted in thousands of locations around the world.”
Coin Cloud also offers customers a non-custodial wallet app designed to work seamlessly with Coin Cloud DCMs. The free mobile app enables users to completely control and manage their money, as well as store, buy, sell, send or receive digital currency from anywhere in the world.
