Coinstar’s Crypto Kiosk Empire Sells in Landmark Deal That Wipes Debt Clean

Coinstar—the company that turned grocery store corners into crypto gateways—just got bought out. The terms? A single transaction that erases its entire debt load.

From Quarters to Quarters

Remember dropping coins into a red machine for cash? Coinstar pivoted that physical footprint into a network for buying Bitcoin and other digital assets. Now, that very infrastructure is changing hands in a move that's more strategic exit than distress sale.

The Clean-Slate Calculus

The deal's headline act isn't just the acquisition—it's the concurrent debt clearance. One signature, one sweep, balance sheet zeroed out. It's the kind of financial engineering that makes traditional bankers blink—turning leveraged baggage into a clean slate for the new owners overnight.

Kiosk Crypto's Staying Power

This sale signals more than a corporate transfer. It validates the brick-and-mortar crypto on-ramp model. While DeFi promises permissionless access, physical kiosks meet users where they are: in the real world, with cash. The buyer isn't just acquiring machines; they're betting on that hybrid future.

A Cynical Footnote for Finance

Let's be real—nothing clears debt faster than finding a greater fool with a checkbook. In this case, the 'fool' might just be a visionary betting that mainstream crypto adoption will walk through a supermarket door.

The machines stay. The debt disappears. And the crypto kiosk game plays on under new management—unburdened and ready for whatever comes next.

Debt repayment clears path as Alaska Native company takes control

As part of the takeover, the new owner will repay more than $750 million in principal, plus all accrued interest, in early January. A private notice sent to bondholders confirmed the timeline, according to Bloomberg.

The bonds involved in the Coinstar deal are structured as whole business securitizations, meaning they are backed by the full cash FLOW of the exchange.

Some analysts later worried the debt might need another overhaul if pressure on Coinstar’s business continued, but the planned repayment reportedly removes that risk.

Arctic Slope Regional (ASRC) oversees a wide mix of portfolios that include construction, petroleum refining, and government contract services, based on information published by the company.

ASRC is one of roughly a dozen regional corporations formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, passed in the early 1970s, which granted millions of acres of land and $1 billion in compensation to Alaska Native groups in exchange for land claims.

Coinstar entered Apollo’s portfolio in 2016, running over 24,000 kiosks that let users turn loose change into cash. After the pandemic slowdown, Coinstar pushed deeper into digital assets. Last year, it began letting customers use cash to buy cryptocurrency through kiosks or a mobile app. The sale now hands control of Coinstar to an Alaska-based owner while closing the book on its bond debt.

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