Adam O'Brien, Founder & CEO of Bitcoin Well, meeting with the teamSUPPLIED
When Adam O’Brien discovered bitcoin eight years ago, he was immediately captivated by its potential and the future impact it can have on society’s relationship with money. And, like most early bitcoin adopters, he also valued its borderless nature and independence from governmental influence.
“I thought it was beautiful, frankly,” he says, “and I still think that.”
What wasn’t so beautiful back then was the process of purchasing bitcoin. It often meant transacting via foreign internet storefronts with dubious security and hoping for the best. That began to change in 2013, when the world’s first bitcoin ATM opened in Vancouver, allowing customers to purchase the digital currency with cash. “It was so much more efficient, scalable and opened things up to a larger demographic,” Adam O’Brien says.
Sensing a burgeoning market, he soon started Bitcoin Solutions (known today as Bitcoin Well), which helps consumers buy and sell bitcoin in secure, convenient ways.
In February 2014 — with a modest family loan — he purchased and deployed Alberta’s first bitcoin ATM.
But finding willing host locations was a hard sell at the time. “No one knew what bitcoin was,” O’Brien says. “‘What’s cryptocurrency? What’s a blockchain?’ This was easily the biggest barrier to growth early on.”
That became painfully clear in May 2014, when O’Brien reached out to 42 Saskatchewan businesses, from coffee shops to grocery stores to gas stations, in a bid to bring the fledgling company across provincial lines. On the 43rd try, he landed a French bakery, whose owner was an enthusiastic adopter.
Since that solo start, Bitcoin Well has continued to grow, particularly in the past 24 months as the popularity and price of bitcoin surged. The company’s ATM network has expanded to 184 machines as of early September from 41 machines in 2019, which currently make it Canada’s second-largest bitcoin ATM provider.
The company now has machines in every province from B.C. to Quebec, as well as New Brunswick, and most recently in the UK, increasing its global bitcoin ATM network to 212 machines. Overall sales grew to $52-million in 2020, up from $18-million in 2019.
Since hiring his first employee in 2017, O’Brien has roughly doubled the company’s staff count every year, with more than 30 people working for the company today. Bitcoin Well also recently secured a space in downtown Edmonton for its newest headquarters, occupying 35,000 square feet on Jasper Avenue, the city’s main commercial artery.
The company is also expanding beyond ATMs to make bitcoin accessible and available to a still-more diverse set of customers. It offers in-person ‘white-glove’ services to customers seeking to make large transactions. In addition, Bitcoin Well provides beginner workshops, educational resources and a suite of easy-to-use online services that enable customers to pay bills or buy and sell bitcoin using e-transfer. All services are non-custodial, meaning that Bitcoin Well doesn’t hold the private passcodes required for users to access their digital currency, which is the case with many traditional bitcoin exchanges.
Bitcoin Well also went public this past July, listing on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol BTCW.
“We now have corporate clout that was lacking in the early years,” Mr. O’Brien says, “and, coupled with the new opportunity to raise capital, it will support the execution of our highly accretive growth strategy.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Bitcoin Wells. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.