Despite the warnings of the Israeli regulator that it won't tolerate bitcoin to get somehow backdoor listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, public companies keep pivoting into the field. The latest example is a firm that focused on oil refineries until now. All of a sudden it announced plans to sell bitcoin ATMs to casinos in Turkish occupied Northern Cyprus, and possibly Nigeria.
Bitcoin Is the New Oil
Oil Company Wants to Sell Bitcoin ATMs to Casinos, Stock Jumps 60%Chiron Refineries LTD (TASE:CHR), a company which focuses on developing oil refineries in Africa, has announced to investors on Tuesday morning that it is entering the cryptocurrency market and its stock price quickly jumped up close to 60%. After an apparent prodding by the regulator the company issued a second announcement at the end of the trading day with extra information about the move.
Chiron, which only on Sunday reported an agreement to build a new oil refinery in Nigeria, has now decided to diversify its business into the "cryptocurrency accessibility" sector. The company signed an agreement with Crypto Technologies Ltd to set up a subsidiary in Northern Cyprus (the Turkish occupied part of the island), to be the sole distributor of its produces in the territory as well as Turkey itself. It also acquired an option to expand the distribution business to Nigeria within 12 months of the agreement.
Every Casino Needs a Bitcoin ATM
Oil Company Wants to Sell Bitcoin ATMs to Casinos, Stock Jumps 60%
Cratos Premium Hotel and Casino, Northern Cyprus, Kirenya (Girne)
Crypto Technologies Ltd is said to develop "a unique technology for the fast and secure selling and buying of cryptocurrency for end users, insured by an American insurance company." Reading through the extended description it seems that the main product is an app which turns mobile tablets into bitcoin ATMs. It will supposedly be ready for distribution by the coming April.
Trying to assuage the regulator's fears, Chiron added that the UI and the trading algorithm via APIs have already been developed, that it is unaware of any legal bans on cryptocurrencies in the intended regions and that it will not hold or mine bitcoin by itself. Additionally, the company explained that the potential clients for the products are not individuals but businesses, like casinos. Asked by Israeli media what connection the oil company has to any of this, Chiron's lawyer explained that one of the owners has connections in Northern Cyprus and experience in the casino business.