The retailer will function much like a bank.
BUCKHEAD, Ga. — Kip Karani, a 27-year-old Atlanta-based entrepreneur, is opening a retail location for cryptocurrency in Buckhead.
Anytime Capital LLC will open its first location at 2549 Piedmont Road NE Suite 110 within two weeks, according to reporting from 11Alive’s news partner The Atlanta Business Chronicle. It acts similar to a bank, where people can invest and manage crypto assets.
“With us, we can help older people and those who aren’t digitally inclusive,” said Karani. “We’re making the ecosystem for crypto easier to use and get into, not making it scary when you go on crypto exchanges that are confusing.”
Karani claims that this will be the first physical retail location established by a financial institution completely dedicated to crypto in the U.S. Atlanta Inno was not able to verify this information.
Customers can come into the store and deposit with cash at one of its crypto ATMs to convert their assets into cryptocurrency. The company charges fees up to 12% lower than traditional crypto exchanges, said Karani. Whereas companies like Coinbase Global Inc. may lock a user’s account after substantial activity with a five-day waiting period, Anytime Capital can unlock someone’s account at the branch.
The company will initially offer over 25 different cryptocurrencies and add more each week. It also looks to add debit card features so people can spend their crypto wallet with their Visa credit cards.
It’s been difficult to establish physical retail locations for crypto branches due to heavy regulations and expenses, said Karani. Anytime Capital is regulated by the Georgia Department of Bank & Finance and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, according to its website.
There may also be a lot of apprehension from people to compete with bigger banks.
“It’s just a matter of time, all of the big banks will eventually have crypto,” said Karani. “Maybe some bigger investors don’t want to put in money because they’re scared of the bigger banks.”
Read the full report from The Atlanta Business Chronicle.