Bitcoin Forum

...

Just informing anyone interested that there is a BTC ATM (Lamassu) at "Sonny's Grocery" located at about 757 10 Ave. in Manhattan.  On the WEST side of 10th (there are two "Sonny's" on that block).

No apparent cameras.  No ID.  No hand print or fingerprints necessary.  Looked pretty anonymous.

Machine worked fine.

Guy at the counter did not know how it worked but told me that the thing is pretty well used...

STIFF 12% premium over BTC "spot".

Holy cow, 12%  So this thing is pretty much just for laundering money then?  Would anyone really pay such a markup?  I thought bitcoin transactions were supposed to be cheaper than traditional currency :P

If any of these nearby businesses start to offer 10-20% discounts for using bitcoin as a payment method then the initial purchasing charge is negligent if any. These ATMs are low traffic and are merely convenience options for those that choose to do so. You're not going to see many people post up and start shelling 100s of $100 bills in there to do this laundering you're describing. Possible but not gonna be very prevalent.

I'd be walking to a 12% bitcoin ATM in a New York minute if they had them where I live.  The convenience is just too good.  Otherwise, it's just really hard to get at.  Still though, it's uncomfortable to lose that much on a transaction too.  My bank covers ATM fees but I doubt so in this case.  and wtf anonymity right?  haha... well  Hopefully eventually there will be more competition too.

Can you imagine someone putting a 10% bitcoin ATM right next to the 12%?  now that would be hilarious!

He should start to accepting Bitcoin in his shop, so it would attract customers to using Bitcoin because there is even a Bitcoin ATM there.

Will the people who own the ATM have to apply for a BitLicense when its brought in?

If sales do take off at this ATM, you can be sure that there will be competing ATMs opening up with lower premium.
You can trust the free market to take care of this.  :)

...

Jeremycoin

The guy at the counter was clearly not the owner of the store nor of the machine.  The only thing he really told me was that the machine was used quite a bit.  I was only there some 15 minutes so cannot know for sure.

BOTH other guys put in a number (a lot) of FRNs of different denominations (1s, 5s, 20s, 50s).  That was what made me think of them as possible drug dealers.  Erm, they were both BIG guys...  One of them stepped out the door to call someone: "Hey, did you get the money yet?", I presume that was re the BTC transaction.

*   *   *

I have a HARD time finding BTC via localbitcoins even though I live in a city.  Even then I usually have to pay the guy(s) (we meet in person) 5% over spot anyway.  Plus I have to drive over.  Sometimes pay $5 or $10 to park.  So, the 12%, yes, is very high, but I prefer the relative anonymity.  No names.  No ID.  No hand print.  No apparent cameras.

Keep in mind that it is possible that the motives of the other two customers of the ATM might have been different than my own.  I was bored (that afternoon in NYC), looked up and then found the machine.  And bought some BTC NOT via exchange nor credit card, etc.  Nice and quietly.

I think 12% is a bit too much.
It should have been much lower considering the volatile price Bitcoin has.