Dogecoin Comes to US Grocery Stores

Coinstar's big green kiosks that allow converting jugs of change into paper bills can now be used for buying Dogecoin (DOGE) and several other cryptocurrencies, including Stellar Lumens (XLM) and Litecoin (LTC). The company kicked off its cryptocurrency experiment four years ago after partnering with the Coinme cryptocurrency exchange. Shoppers can trade their cash for cryptocurrencies by creating a Coinme account, or purchasing a crypto voucher for cash at a Coinstar machine. The machine charges a 4% fee, which makes it a rather expensive way to buy cryptocurrencies. The redemption price can also vary substantially due to Bitcoin's volatility.

One has to verify his or her Coinme account in order to be able to conduct a purchase. Typically, customers are required to upload their driver's license or other document in order to pass the background check. In October, Walmart quietly deployed roughly 200 Coinstar machines in its stores as part of a pilot program. Coinstar operates a network of more than 9,000 Coinme-enabled machines across the country. In April, it expanded into Vermont, placing its kiosks at select supermarkets operated by Hannaford, Tops Friendly Markets, as well as at some Shaw's and Star Market stores. Last July, it expanded into Connecticut. Coinstar CEO Jim Gaherity claims that customers wanted to see more available coins on top of Bitcoin.

Sam Trabucco, co-chief executive officer at Alameda Research, has taken to Twitter to announce that he's stepping down from his role.

Trabucco says that he will remain in a non-executive advisory role.

Caroline Ellison has been earmarked to become the trading firm's next sole CEO. She was appointed as the crypto firm's co-CEO back in October. Ellison joined the firm back in early 2018 as a trader.

Trabucco claims that he has "gradually" reduced his role at Alameda since he cannot devote enough time to work at the moment. He adds that he has reached a point in his life where he now wants to prioritize "other things."

Stepping away from work, Trabucco is not focused on traveling, visiting friends, and relaxing.

The prominent quant trader has stressed that he will not fully remove himself from crypto. "I'll probably still be around here to some extent," he said.
While Trabucco claims that he doesn't have any new cryptocurrency projects lined up, Trabucco also says that he wouldn't rule anything out.

Alameda, which trades billions of dollars worth of crypto on a daily basis, was founded by cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried back in November 2017. Last October, he handed control of the prominent crypto trading firm to Trabucco and Ellison to focus on the FTX exchange.

Trabucco claims that his time at Alameda has been "the most formative" of his entire life. Prior to joining the firm, the MIT graduate had worked as a trader at Susquehanna International Group.