More and more Bitcoin ATMs are popping up in various locations all over the world. If you have to cash out your Bitcoin whenever you need to spend it, these machines make it easy to do so, while giving investors opportunity to develop a profitable infrastructure and giving merchants a first-adopter advantage.
New Skyhook ATM in Atlanta
A new Bitcoin ATM machine was placed in Atlanta at The Goat Farm, Warhorse Café. It is produced by Skyhook, which hopes to continue its mission of providing small-scale bitcoin entrepreneurs with the means to establish ATMs and create grassroots-level exchange locations, as the company wrote:
“Our goal with Skyhook has been to make it possible for everyone to become a bitcoin exchange, so that the buying of bitcoin is easy, accessible, and not restricted to a single central source.”
The ATM launch in Atlanta was already commented on Reddit. Users were claiming that in order for the investors to get their money back, the fee for transactions should be high and discouraging for potential clients – “If you charge a 1% fee, you have to sell US$100,000 in Bitcoin to pay for the machine. I bet most of the units sold will never reach that amount transacted through it.”
Although, the owner of the bitcoin machine replied: “Not expecting to make a profit. I have the machine set at 0% fee. Just want to spread the bitcoin love.”
Oregon’s cryptocurrency ATM draws community attention
The second new cryptocurrency ATM is located in Float On, Portland, Oregon. According to provider’s information, the machine is the first one with state approval in the region, being the true blue two-way crypto-currency exchange.
Comments on Reddit draw attention to storage of complex data – and users seem to be unsure about its safety. One of the examples is the requirement of fingerprints. The company respond to these doubts:
“Sorry that disappoints you, we still have not fully worked out our tiered AML and KYC policy yet, but fingerprints are only used to tie to the SMS number used, and any other data collected.
USA requires us to comply with all Anti Money Laundering and Know Your Customer laws as your local Bank Branch, we are just doing it with a machine, and software, and in a minute or two you get bitcoin, simple as that. If you want to sell us coin, no confirms for anything under $100, anything more than that and it's one confirm, and you get cash.
We also only require SMS and Fingerprint up to $1000 and we are trying to fight for less and less AML and KYC, please don't hate on Fingerprints, or Photos of your ID on site for transactions over $1000, it's to appease the great Overlords the Fed. We are trying to make it SAFE and 10x easier to get large-ER amounts of coin bought or sold for cash, than dealing with local-bitcoins and possible scams.”
The main point of the fingerprint protection is the identity verification which seems to be still one of the main solutions preventing from using one’s identity to withdraw bitcoins and use them for buying illegal items.
“This makes ABSOLUTELY certain, that someone cannot buy bitcoin, under YOUR identity, in the physical world, by either forging your ID, stealing it and your phone, or a multitude of other ways Identity theft happens.”
First Bitcoin ATMS in Santa Barbara and Bulgaria
Some other new locations of cryptocurrency ATMs include Lamassu Bitcoin ATM machine in Sofia at the Interpred WTC Sofia and the Ouroboros Research machine in Santa Barbara, CA.
The Bulgarian ATM is the first known publicly available Bitcoin ATM in the country, which is operated by BITCOIN BULGARIA LTD. The detailed instructions about how to find an ATM in the Block B of Interpred WTC Sofia can be found on the operator's site Bitcoin Bulgaria ATM. Their current fee is 4%.
Regarding the second ATM, Ouroboros Research which provides the full exchange service for Bitcoin and Litecoin can be found in Santa Barbara. Merchant’s Exchange Rates can be found here.
Canadian Virtual Exchange investing in 10 new bitcoin teller machines
Now, thanks to CAVIRTEX, naming itself the Canada’s largest bitcoin exchange and service provider, the region of Toronto and Mississauga may become the area with the biggest amount of BTMs in the world.
- CVIRTEX's Canada-themed BTMs
CAVIRTEX business directions shows their belief that the digital currency will continue to grow in popularity despite some recent controversies. Their philosophy is to develop the Bitcoin accessibility to allow people to instantly transfer money to anyone over the Internet, with little or no fees.
“Honestly, I believe it’s the future of money”, said CAVIRTEX’s VP of business development, Kyle Kemper. “It’s not going to replace national currencies like the Canadian dollar, but it’s an alternative, and in terms of where it’s going, I can see great things happening.”
Also, Kemper underlines the role of the owner of coins in the new virtual economy:
“Bitcoin allows its users to remain in full control of their money. With bitcoin, you become your own bank.”
The mechanism of using the BTM contains a few steps: a user will walk up to the machine with their cell phone, enter their phone number into the machine, and will get a text message with a confirmation number, which they will then enter into the BTM.
They will then have to scan their wallet address (a “wallet” in bitcoin world is your own private online bitcoin repository) or if they don’t have a wallet, the machine will print out a paper wallet with a code to scan.
The user will then place cash in the machine and press done, and the corresponding number of bitcoins will then be purchased from a bitcoin holder looking to sell, and then deposited in the user’s account. A confirmation receipt will then be printed.
Each transaction is recorded in a ledger, which is viewable to all bitcoin users and the machines are capable of buying and selling up to US$3,000 worth of bitcoins in the Canadian marketplace.
Despite the enthusiasm about CAVIRTEX’s latest venture, there still are Bitcoin skeptics. Their main issues regard the many establishments that don’t accept it, government bodies have expressed concern that Bitcoin is not regulated in the same way as a bank.
Furthermore, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said earlier this week that customers should be prepared for large price fluctuations, and that this type of currency can be the target of hackers and this has some influence on Bitcoin’s value.
Kemper claims that CAVIRTEX has never been hacked, and that it has never lost clients’ funds. As he says, CAVIRTEX reports its business transactions to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, and keeps a “bank equivalent style of client verification system.”
The six BTMs in the GTA will be placed in Gateway Newsstands at the following locations:
Brookfield Place (181 Bay St.), Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave., Scarborough Town Centre, Fairview Mall, Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Square One, Mississauga.
Complete network of Bitcoin Kiosks by XBTeller
XBTeller, a Denver-based digital currency services company has a plan to create a new network of Bitcoin kiosks across Colorado. The company started by launching first kiosk in Aurora.
XBTeller, a Denver-based digital currency services company, has announced plans to launch a network of Bitcoin kiosks across Colorado. The company’s first kiosk is now operating in Aurora. Denver, Boulder, Blackhawk and Breckenridge will follow before the year’s end, the company said in a news release.
What makes the XBTeller Bitcoin ATM different from others? The fact that it does not only allow Bitcoin accountholders to buy and sell the digital currency, but also offers new users the opportunity simply to learn more about Bitcoin.
This educational support includes an interactive content network and live Bitcoin experts to assist newcomers, answer questions, and provide other customer service, the release said. As XBTeller CEO Noah Berger explained:
“The majority of people haven’t heard of Bitcoin. Of those who have, many are misinformed about its purpose and potential, and only a tiny fraction actually own or use it.
“We aim to change that by building an experience that targets the 99 out of 100 people who don’t have a Bitcoin wallet on their phone yet. I think that experience starts best with a conversation and an opportunity to ask questions. It’s hard to walk up to an ATM and feel a personal connection, so we’ve added the human back into the process. The aim of the company is to clear up common misconceptions surrounding Bitcoin, explain security risks, and even send a micro transaction to a new user’s wallet to demonstrate the ease and speed of transactions on the Bitcoin network.”
The company says its kiosk attendants are ready to help throughout the transaction process.
"We want to make sure everyone understands what Bitcoin allows for right now and what its current limits are. For most people, Bitcoin is probably best viewed as an experiment they can participate in voluntarily, not as an investment,” Berger said.
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