The local government of the City of Williston in North Dakota announced the installation of a ‘government-hosted cryptocurrency kiosk’ in the Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) through their official website last November 17. This allows all locals, both ticketed passengers and non-travellers, to immediately buy and sell over 40 different digital coins such as Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA) and Ether (ETH) using cash. They can also use the digital currency machine (DCM) to withdraw cash from their respective digital wallets.
According to the finance director of the City of Williston Hercules Cummings, ‘the main objective behind this DCM is to bridge public curiosity to acceptance and portfolio adoption of a growing asset class’ in a post through the city’s official website last November 17. He then added that ‘this is an ambitious step in introducing and engaging the public towards cryptocurrency while proactively playing a role in building the digital ecosystem’.
However, Cummings noted that this would not be possible without their partnership with DCM operator Coin Cloud who manages the purchases and withdrawals in the crypto machines.
The founder and CEO of Coin Cloud Chris McAlary said ‘we’re excited to move into the travel sector with this historic installation in Williston’ in a statement shown through the city’s website.
According to McAlary, this project was a big move following their first-ever machine on the Las Vegas Strip which was ‘embraced by locals and tourists alike as a better way to buy and sell crypto’. In turn, this first DCM in an airport is a ‘big step into the future’ as read in the same statement.
Cummings said in the same press release that albeit being a smaller rural community, they are making an impact in the market. He added that ‘taking this small step may pave the way for other government and commercial entities to follow suit’.
In an interview with crypto news site Cointelegraph last November 18, Cummings said that their initiative ‘may be the first case of an airport and government-hosted crypto ATM’ in the entire USA. He then hopes that the city’s crypto payments will improve over time and will help accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency in the entire country.
The DCM is strategically placed before the security area on the first floor of the international airport, near the rental car offices and baggage carousel.
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