It’s a wonder that it took this long, but the world’s first bitcoin ATM is about to open for business this coming Tuesday.
The machine, which was built by Nevada-based Robocoin and is being managed by a Canadian group called Bitcoiniacs, will be located at the entrance of a coffee shop in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Users will be able to turn bitcoins into cash and, conversely, to trade cash in for bitcoins via trading on Canada’s VirtEx bitcoin exchange.
Unsurprisingly, however, there are some rules in place that will ensure all transactions abide by Canada’s financial regulations. There is a $3,000 CAD ($2,800 USD) daily transaction cap to prevent the ATM from being used for money laundering purposes, and the machine will require palm prints and other identity verification measures to prevent people from duplicitously skirting the rules.
Bitcoiniacs has purchased five other Robocoin machines, which the group says are due to come to other Canadian locations soon. As for potential Stateside bitcoin ATMS, “the regulations right now in the United States are a pretty decent barrier to entry for any operator,” says Robocoin CEO Jordan Kelley.
[via The Verge]
