Two Port Coquitlam brothers are banking on a growing interest in digital currency and have partnered with local businesses to make it easy for people to buy.
Michael and Dominic Vogel, both Riverside secondary school graduates, developed software that turns any device into a Bitcoin ATM. They call their business Netcoins and have partnered with the national chain Gateway Newstands.
Vogel says Gateway likes Netcoins because its stores don't need an expensive ATM, which takes up floor space, training is straightforward and takes just minutes, and extra revenue can be earned by bringing in a younger clientele.
Customers like it, Vogel says, it because Netcoins makes it easy to purchase Bitcoin without having to go through the hassle of choosing traders and going through security protocols.
The Bitcoin customer merely gives the merchant an email address and payment, and receives details, as well as a password. The process is handled through Netcoins software, connected to the app Blockchain, which stores the currency and records it on the customer's digital device. A small convenience fee is charged, shared by the retailer and Netcoins.
"We like to say we do the heavy lifting," said Vogel of the process.
It's not just tech-savvy young people like themselves who are interested in Bitcoin, said Vogel. There's interest among entrepreneurs who don't want to deal with traditional banks, and businesses, such as Dell and Microsoft, wishing to provide more options for their customers.
Currency rates have fluctuated, although Vogel expects them to stabilize, and currently one Bitcoin is worth $609.94 CAD, although you can just buy $5 worth of the currency.
"It's such a revolution," said Vogel, "and the adoption rates are growing," said Michael, whose background is in electronic engineering while his brother works in internet security.
The Vogel brothers think there is a good future in Bitcoin and have retail outlets in several other stores in B.C. and Manitoba, including Perfect Wireless Solution in Coquitlam.
And they aren't the only local boys dealing in Bitcoin. Earlier in 2015, Port Moody secondary school grad Trevor Laird launched Cryptopick Canada and installed two Bitcoin ATMs in the Tri-Cities, one in Port Moody and one in Coquitlam.
Michael Vogel isn't concerned about the competition — in fact he welcomes it. "The more, the better," he says as Bitcoin emerges from obscurity as "weird nerd money" to accepted currency bought, sold and exchanged for goods and services around the world.
