Coinucopia ATM’s Excessive 17.7% Markup
Last night I visited the Coinucopia ATM at the Chevron Gas Station in San Jose, CA at 395 Bird Ave. hoping to buy some bitcoin ASAP (bank transfer to Coinbase is unfortunately taking almost a week). However, when I got to the ATM I learned Coinucopia’s bitcoin price, which is not listed on their site, was $2,552.99 or 17.7% greater than the $2,168.98 price on Coinbase! This price represents a 17.7% markup on buying bitcoin via cash — not via a credit or debit card which could explain some portion of the fees because of the underlying card fees. For comparison, Coinbase fees are:
- 1.49% for purchase via bank transfer or cash held on their site, or
- 3.99% for purchase via credit/debit card
Some premium can be expected for facilitating instant bitcoin purchase via fiat but a 17.7% fee, which is over 11 times greater than the fiat fee on Coinbase, is unreasonable. I sadly left without any new bitcoin :(
