One of the first Bitcoin vending machines manufactured by Lamassu has landed in Boston, at the South Station due to the efforts of two enthusiasts. The company LibertyTeller possibly succeeded to outpace the competitors from Enchanted Bitcoins, who announced the placement of a similar unit at the Imbibe cigar bar in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It does not matter, who was first, but mostly, who will be lucky in the future.
The Boston enterprise consists of two ambitious young men - Kyle Powers and Chris Yim, who were studying together at a business school. Common interest in technology, advanced finance solutions and particularly Bitcoin became a solid base of their present business. On the 19th February the bypasses at the station could read the sign “Bitcoin in 30 seconds” near a stand consisting of a table and the vending machine. To promote and support the idea simultaneously was launched the homepage and a Twitter account. The entrepreneurs said:
“We want to tell people that they are now free to use Bitcoin as an alternative to slow and expensive megabanks and credit cards, so we named this small business Liberty Teller. Our kiosks help us tell that message by making Bitcoin simple and safe enough for anyone to use.”
The first and currently only location marked on the map with the logo of LibertyTeller was not chosen by accident – the South Station features about 25 000 passengers and visitors every day. It is hard to surpass such massive and concentrated flow anywhere else, even at a mall or public office.
Present situation does not allow leaving the venue due to security and educational reasons. Although the machine produced by Lamassu was chosen in favor of units by Robocoin, due to the simplicity of use, small amount of buttons, and a generally lower price, someone has to be in charge to give explanations about the Bitcoin and the functions of the equipment. Around 9 working hours are spent by Powers and Yim, but on the day of launch they were able to go home only after midnight. The company keeps no records on the amount of completed transactions, but sees potential customers even in people willing to take a photo of them and the machine.
Future plans, of course, are to widen the network of the vending machines by adding some more units in crowded places of the city. However, the success depends on one more party – the retailers accepting or rejecting Bitcoin. Powers points on shops around, stating:
“We’ve got to get these places signed up.”
The devotion and belief of Yim and Powers is capable to infect everyone, who has spoken with them. This humble company, definitely having the required potential of growth, is a great example of the uniting aspect of Bitcoin, presenting the initial advantages of the cryptographic solutions.