The above video will show Nathan Paredes, a Sr. Vice President and General Manager of Olliv talking about the way they do business. Olliv is a company that originated from CoinFlip, one of the largest Bitcoin ATM operators in the world, and its main goal is to do its part in ushering the next billion users into crypto.
What Sets Olliv Apart
The first and foremost thing that Nathan pointed out is that even though Olliv is a digital platform, they are not an exchange, explaining that their Bitcoin ATM history led them into this digital adventure and made them firm believers in self-custody. So, they went a step further in that sense, and in addition to offering self-custody services on their platform or machines, they actually set up a physical education center in Tampa where they offer Bitcoin 101 courses, helping people understand what self-custody really is and other things one needs to know in order to reside in the crypto space.
Apart from that, one of their main differentiators is simply their service. They were one of the few companies back in 2015, when they started with Bitcoin ATMs, to actually have a 24/7 customer support center which was not only meant for big transactors but for every single user of their services. They also have an order desk where clients who aren’t comfortable with transacting at an ATM or online can go and get help setting up the wallet and going through their transactions. As Nathan further describes, it really goes together with the Olliv goal to be the pinnacle of crypto adoption. The full-time customer support, together with the physical presence of the ATMs and the order desk creates that human feeling and makes it much easier for first-time adopters to go into the mystical world of crypto.
Regulation and KYC
Apart from the United States, Olliv operates in Canada, Australia, Panama, Brazil, Italy, and Puerto Rico, with plans to go further expand into Europe and Latin America. Even though, Nathan thinks that it’s really important to keep America at the forefront of innovation and a leader when it comes to blockchain technology and adoption. Olliv as a company regularly meets with state and federal lawmakers serving as a kind of trusted advisor helping to build a regulatory framework that protects customers but at the same time doesn’t stifle business innovation.
When it comes to KYC, it depends on how much money one wants to spend. If it’s a few hundred dollars then they can be out in less than 10 minutes, but if someone wants to transact thousands of dollars then it is required to do some additional identifying that varies by platform or jurisdiction. Nathan assures that even when they need to gather additional information, they always try to do that in the quickest way possible not to disrupt the user experience.
User Experience
In a world of thousands of coins, Olliv has a method to the madness for deciding which ones to offer, and it’s pretty simple as Nathan says. They want to be thoughtful and bring value to the clients while at the same time trying to keep them safe. In that sense, they are not necessarily interested in the flavor of the week or looking for any opportunities, but are having the customer’s interest in mind.
Currently, they offer Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and eight other coins, but are always looking to bring in some new and cool experiences.
Another thing Olliv is proud of is that they offer their customers the option of buying and selling crypto on their machines. By being a global company it’s important for Olliv that they provide the ability to go fiat to crypto and vice-versa so that their users can leverage the Olive Network as a kind of global financial system. Especially having in mind that remittance is a big use case for Bitcoin ATMs
The Future
Nathan also shared some insight on the Olliv plans for the future saying that the main focus will still be helping the global adoption. The most exciting project on their roadmap would probably be Olliv University, interestingly called Olliv-U. It will be a build-up on their Tampa education center and will offer learning journeys for their users spreading the knowledge about self-custody, frauds, scams, and all of the necessary stuff people need to know to exist in the crypto world.
Apart from that, they are looking to add a feature that will connect the users directly to merchants, as well as launch a digital asset advisory team that will help people figure out how to incorporate digital assets into their portfolio and guide them on that investment journey.
Summary
Listening to Nathan we got the sense that Olliv is really about providing a comprehensive experience for their users by offering self-custodial physical and online options for buying and selling crypto together with full-time customer support. All of that is done by keeping the customer experience and safety in mind. When you take into account their educational center and cooperation with the US regulators, we think it’s safe to say that Olliv surely is one of the carriers of global crypto adoption.