ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Contact
  • Testimonials
  • Demographics & Advertising Rates
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Search
    Generic filters
    California Business Journal
    51 °f
    Los Angeles
    62 ° Fri
    62 ° Sat
    70 ° Sun
    72 ° Mon
    67 ° Tue
    63 ° Wed
    • Front Page
    • Business
      • Insurance
      • Real Estate
    • Finance
      bitcoin of america

      The power of Bitcoin of America intensifies

      venture-capital-investment

      Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv Firm NextLeap Ventures Rising To The Next Level

      stock-market-3

      How the Inflow of Retail Traders is Changing Stock Market Dynamics

      Bitcoin

      Big Changes May Be Coming For Cryptocurrency

    • People
    • Featured
      Dr. Chris Harts4

      Oventus Medical Is Revolutionizing the Treatment of Sleep Apnea

      blockchain2

      Blockchain.com Value Reaches $5.2 Billion

      bitcoin of america

      The power of Bitcoin of America intensifies

      alone at beach

      One Fine Outlook

      Graham-Michael-Byers No. 4

      The Prince of Puerto Rico

    • Technology
      Higher Education Adapts to Covid Using IT

      How Higher Education Has Adapted to Covid-19 Using IT Tools

      NEC X Figure 3_Shige Ihara

      Fast Tracking Technologies … To The World

      Welcome to the construction industry’s automated augment

      Tech Future Healthcare1

      Technology and the Future of Health Care

    • Law
      Doctor getting second opinion on patients x-ray

      What To Do If You’ve Received Improper Medical Treatment

      Mediation-For-Couples (1)

      What is Mediation and How It Can Help?

      What are the legal obligations of businesses and what happens when these duties are breached?

      Nicole Kuklok-Waldman Headshot

      Commentary: How to Bounce Back from a Canceled Career 

    • News
      blockchain2

      Blockchain.com Value Reaches $5.2 Billion

      Negative Google reviews1

      How to Handle Negative Google Reviews

      SleepScore Labs

      The Final Score

      Passports on a map of the world

      If Your Employees with U.S. Passports are Traveling in 2021, Start Planning Now

    • Human Interest
      • Food
      • Art & Culture
    • Education
      Charles Smith

      Commentary: Executive Team Alignment is More Essential Now Than Ever

      payroll expenditure or revenue

      How Can a Business Carry Out Payroll Effectively?

      Jean-Paul Gravel, founder of ThroughConversation3

      5 Relationship Challenges That High-Achievers Face (and How to Fix Them)

      self hypnotic2

      The UpNow Self-Hypnosis App: Making Mental Health Affordable and Accessible

    • Health & Fitness
      Woman climber on a Klettersteig (Via Ferrata)

      6 Unique Ways to Stay Fit Outdoors This Summer

      WOMAN WORKING OUT

      Taking the Gym Home: Hot Selling Items During the Pandemic

      silhouette-of-man-and-woman-running

      3 Reasons to Start Working Out … This Month

      The Surprising Link between Gut Health and Mental Health

    California Business Journal
    • Front Page
    • Business
      • Insurance
      • Real Estate
    • Finance
      bitcoin of america

      The power of Bitcoin of America intensifies

      venture-capital-investment

      Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv Firm NextLeap Ventures Rising To The Next Level

      stock-market-3

      How the Inflow of Retail Traders is Changing Stock Market Dynamics

      Bitcoin

      Big Changes May Be Coming For Cryptocurrency

    • People
    • Featured
      Dr. Chris Harts4

      Oventus Medical Is Revolutionizing the Treatment of Sleep Apnea

      blockchain2

      Blockchain.com Value Reaches $5.2 Billion

      bitcoin of america

      The power of Bitcoin of America intensifies

      alone at beach

      One Fine Outlook

      Graham-Michael-Byers No. 4

      The Prince of Puerto Rico

    • Technology
      Higher Education Adapts to Covid Using IT

      How Higher Education Has Adapted to Covid-19 Using IT Tools

      NEC X Figure 3_Shige Ihara

      Fast Tracking Technologies … To The World

      Welcome to the construction industry’s automated augment

      Tech Future Healthcare1

      Technology and the Future of Health Care

    • Law
      Doctor getting second opinion on patients x-ray

      What To Do If You’ve Received Improper Medical Treatment

      Mediation-For-Couples (1)

      What is Mediation and How It Can Help?

      What are the legal obligations of businesses and what happens when these duties are breached?

      Nicole Kuklok-Waldman Headshot

      Commentary: How to Bounce Back from a Canceled Career 

    • News
      blockchain2

      Blockchain.com Value Reaches $5.2 Billion

      Negative Google reviews1

      How to Handle Negative Google Reviews

      SleepScore Labs

      The Final Score

      Passports on a map of the world

      If Your Employees with U.S. Passports are Traveling in 2021, Start Planning Now

    • Human Interest
      • Food
      • Art & Culture
    • Education
      Charles Smith

      Commentary: Executive Team Alignment is More Essential Now Than Ever

      payroll expenditure or revenue

      How Can a Business Carry Out Payroll Effectively?

      Jean-Paul Gravel, founder of ThroughConversation3

      5 Relationship Challenges That High-Achievers Face (and How to Fix Them)

      self hypnotic2

      The UpNow Self-Hypnosis App: Making Mental Health Affordable and Accessible

    • Health & Fitness
      Woman climber on a Klettersteig (Via Ferrata)

      6 Unique Ways to Stay Fit Outdoors This Summer

      WOMAN WORKING OUT

      Taking the Gym Home: Hot Selling Items During the Pandemic

      silhouette-of-man-and-woman-running

      3 Reasons to Start Working Out … This Month

      The Surprising Link between Gut Health and Mental Health

    Search
      Generic filters
      California Business Journal

      The New Bitcoin ATM King of Los Angeles

      Brandon Mintz began researching bitcoin as a student at The University of Georgia. After breaking into the Los Angeles market, he now has 250 Bitcoin ATM machines across the U.S. with plans to be at 1,000 by 2020.

      by Chris Casacchia, Senior Writer, California Business Journal
      A A
      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

      A 25-year-old entrepreneur from Atlanta is aiming to become the bitcoin ATM king of Los Angeles, the largest market for buying and selling the much-hyped digital currency.

      “I would like to get at least 25% of the L.A. market share as soon as possible,” says Brandon Mintz, who launched Bitcoin Depot in 2016.

      The startup’s recent expansion to Los Angeles has boosted its local ATM count to 35, a strong foundation considering it entered Southern California about a year ago in its first move to the West, yet it is still short of Mintz’s targeted goal.

      Brandon Mintz began researching bitcoin as a student at The University of Georgia. After breaking into the Los Angeles market, he now has 250 Bitcoin ATM machines across the U.S. with plans to be at 1,000 by 2020.
      Brandon Mintz began researching bitcoin as a student at The University of Georgia. After breaking into the Los Angeles market, he now has 250 Bitcoin ATM machines across the U.S. with plans to be at 1,000 by 2020.

      The sprawling marketplace, which encompasses nearly 5,000 square miles in Los Angeles and Orange counties, has more than 430 bitcoin ATMs, according coinatmradar.com. That puts Bitcoin Depot’s market share at about 8% in greater Los Angeles, a major focus of growth for Mintz.

      “The L.A. ATM bitcoin market is red hot,” he says.

      Keeping pace with other large operators and a slew of newcomers trying to capitalize on bitcoin’s volatile value is challenging, but Mintz has positioned Bitcoin Depot for the long haul. The company has grown its Bitcoin ATM network to more than 250 in 19 states. By the end of the year, the machine operator will have more 400 and more than 1,000 by the end of 2020.

      “We look at the highest populated cities in the U.S.,” Mintz says.

      The University of Georgia graduate installed his first four bitcoin ATMs in Atlanta three years ago when bitcoin was trading between $625 and $675. The decentralized cryptocurrency crossed the $10,000 milestone in late June, hitting a 52-week high of $13,826.76 on June 26. It’s down about 24% since then, trading around $10,500 as of press time, with a market cap of $188 billion.

      Mintz found it more difficult to convince those first four businesses to install his bitcoin ATMs because of the lack of knowledge of what bitcoin was at the time in 2016. Since then, bitcoin has become a household name.

      Mintz’s early sales pitches were often met with doubt and uncertainty from convenience store, gas station, smoke shop and liquor store owners. He likened the system to PayPal without foreign currency exchange fees, concepts understood by shop owners who transmit money to family and friends in different countries.

      Mintz talked up the benefits of hosting the ATMs, such as advertising their location in listings, directories, the company’s website, search engines and social media platforms. The conversations quickly turned to the financial benefits for shop owners, who receive $200 per month to house a bitcoin ATM.

      .Mintz spent more than $35,000 on the initial ATMs, which included upgraded hardware and preloaded software. The machines also have to be stocked with at least $10,000 in cash for transactions. Compliance and legal expenses can easily raise the initial investment to $250,000 or more in the first year of operations.

      By the end of 2016, Mintz had sold and installed 50 bitcoin ATMs, expanding beyond Atlanta into Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Birmingham, Ala. “It’s similar to the business model of a cash ATM company except there is a lot more technical, legal, compliance, and advertising knowledge needed.”

      Mintz targeted businesses with ample parking, long operating hours and those with ATMs, trying to reach an underserved demographic. “Crypto is very appealing for the underbanked population in the U.S.,” he says.

      A 2017 survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated that 25% of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked — lacking a bank account outright or forced to use alternative financial services such as payday loans, money orders and check cashers.

      “They can’t buy bitcoin online because they don’t have established credit history and they don’t have these financial accounts,” says Mintz, who estimates half to three quarters of the company’s nearly 100,000 customers are underbanked.

      About two-thirds of Bitcoin Depot’s customers are millennials. The business model is similar to a traditional currency exchange, which marks up the exchange rate to generate revenue. The company aims to cross the 1 million transaction milestone by the end of next year.

      Bitcoin Depot customers can purchase as little as $20 in bitcoins daily and as much as $5,000. The average transaction is between $100 and $200, according to Mintz, who began researching bitcoin in college.

      He established Cash to Crypto in Atlanta in 2013, essentially buying bitcoin from exchanges around the world and selling it at a markup through peer-to-peer websites. The workload became overbearing.

      “People all over the country would contact me for trades at any time of the day,” says Mintz, who started to invest in the stock market at 15. “I couldn’t keep up with the amount of volume.” So he cashed out that business and entered the ATM market.

      “Of course,” he adds, “you had to establish a retail footprint nationwide.”

      Bitcoin Depot plans to raise its first funding round next year to expand its network across the country and potentially internationally as more companies accept the digital currency.
      Bitcoin Depot plans to raise its first funding round next year to expand its network across the country and potentially internationally as more companies accept the digital currency.

      Bitcoin Depot in well on its way, with plans to raise its first funding round next year to expand its network across the country and potentially internationally as more companies accept the digital currency, joining the likes of Whole Foods and Starbucks.

      ADVERTISEMENT

      Facebook, the world’s largest social network, announced plans in June to launch its own digital currency Libra, boosting awareness in mainstream circles and caution in economic ones.

      “We’re planning to continue to make these acquisitions.”

      Copyright © 2020 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved.

      This article was edited and published by Rick Weinberg, California Business Journal’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief. Click here for Rick Weinberg’s biography.

      TO READ THE MAGAZINE VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE, click here.

      Brandon Mintz, Bitcoin Depot
      Brandon Mintz, Bitcoin Depot
      Brandon Mintz, Bitcoin Depot
      Brandon Mintz, Bitcoin Depot

       

       

       

      Tags: advertisingATMBitcoinBitcoin ATMsBitcoin DepotBrandon MintzCaliforniacollegecomplianceconveniencecryptocryptocurrencyDallasentrepreneurfinancial servicesfocusfundinghostinginsuranceinvestmentloanslocalLos AngelesmarketplacepeerSocial MediaSouthern Californiastock marketThe Exchange
      ADVERTISEMENT
      Chris Casacchia, Senior Writer, California Business Journal

      Chris Casacchia, Senior Writer, California Business Journal

      Chris Casacchia covers U.S. and global equity markets, finance, startups, venture capital, private equity, aerospace and SEC disclosures. A graduate of Arizona State University, Chris was Technology Editor for the Orange County Business Journal before joining California Business Journal as Senior Writer. He is also a Media Consultant.

      WHAT TO READ NEXT

      Charles Smith
      Editor's Choice

      Commentary: Executive Team Alignment is More Essential Now Than Ever

      April 14, 2021
      payroll expenditure or revenue
      Education

      How Can a Business Carry Out Payroll Effectively?

      April 14, 2021
      Jean-Paul Gravel, founder of ThroughConversation3
      Education

      5 Relationship Challenges That High-Achievers Face (and How to Fix Them)

      April 12, 2021
      self hypnotic2
      Education

      The UpNow Self-Hypnosis App: Making Mental Health Affordable and Accessible

      April 12, 2021
      Fintech
      Education

      3 Innovative Funds To Invest In 2021

      April 12, 2021
      Freelance
      Education

      5 Clever Ways To Earn More Money Outside Of Your Job

      April 12, 2021
      Next Post
      restaurant gorgeous view

      Confidential File: The Secret to Starting a Stellar Restaurant Business

      Follow Us

      ADVERTISEMENT

      Categories

      • Art & Culture
      • Business
      • Editor's Choice
      • Education
      • Featured
      • Finance
      • Food & Dining
      • Health & Fitness
      • Human Interest
      • Insurance
      • Law
      • Marketing
      • Medical
      • News
      • People
      • Popular
      • Real Estate
      • Social Media
      • Technology
      • Uncategorized

      CBJ Partner Firebrand Media

      Laguna Beach Independent Newspaper

      Laguna Beach Magazine

      Laguna Beach City Guide

      On The Menu Laguna Beach

      Newport Beach Independent Newspaper

      Newport Beach Magazine

      Newport Beach Country Club Magazine

      Coastal Real Estate Guide (NB,LB, CDM)

      Montage Magazine

      Monarch Beach Resort Magazine

      Pacific Coast Magazine (SoCal)

      Omni Escapes Hotel Magazine

      Sea Island Life Magazine

      Salamander Hotel & Resorts Magazine

      Bespoke Concierge New York

      Evans Hotels

      View our entire portfolio here

      ADVERTISEMENT
      ADVERTISEMENT
      Facebook Twitter LinkedIn LinkedIn Instagram
      C B J   LOGO  SVG-01
      • About
      • Contact
      • Testimonials
      • Demographics & Advertising Rates

      Newsletter

      Most Viewed

      • Judge gavel, scales of justice and law books in court

        Lawsuit Basics: How Much Does It Cost to Sue Someone?

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • THE ONLY WAY

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • REPORT: TECH GIANT CISCO ABOUT TO LAY OFF 14,000

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0

      Latest Articles

      Charles Smith

      Commentary: Executive Team Alignment is More Essential Now Than Ever

      April 14, 2021
      payroll expenditure or revenue

      How Can a Business Carry Out Payroll Effectively?

      April 14, 2021
      Jean-Paul Gravel, founder of ThroughConversation3

      5 Relationship Challenges That High-Achievers Face (and How to Fix Them)

      April 12, 2021

      California Business Journal | California Business News, California News Media, California business articles | Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Inland Empire, Northern California, San Francisco | Huntington Beach CA 92649 | (949) 648-3815
      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY CALIFORNIA BUSINESS JOURNAL.
      Site Design by 1REALTOUR

      Search
        Generic filters
        • Front Page
        • Business
          • Insurance
          • Real Estate
        • Finance
        • People
        • Featured
        • Technology
        • Law
        • News
        • Human Interest
          • Food
          • Art & Culture
        • Education
        • Health & Fitness

        California Business Journal | California Business News, California News Media, California business articles | Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Inland Empire, Northern California, San Francisco | Huntington Beach CA 92649 | (949) 648-3815
        ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY CALIFORNIA BUSINESS JOURNAL.
        Site Design by 1REALTOUR