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http://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2013/3/25/worlds-first-bitcoin-atm-is-announced-first-location-cyprus.html (http://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2013/3/25/worlds-first-bitcoin-atm-is-announced-first-location-cyprus.html)


Monday,March 25, 2013

While European politicos negotiate in Brussels, deciding the fate of other people's money in Cyprus, the free market has already moved in to help Cypriots get access to their money via other means...

Banks have been closed for the last week in Cyprus and if they do re-open on Tuesday, it has now been announced that daily withdrawal limits at ATMs will be 100 euros per day. 

As the Cypriot Drama unfolds before our very eyes, I began pondering what tangible solutions there are to bank holidays and bank runs. What could I do to help in Cyprus and all other countries (like Spain, Greece and Italy) for which, as we have predicted at TDV, bank closures are coming?  The answer wasn’t hard to come up with. If these people had simply bought bitcoins with their savings, not only would they currently have 100% access to their funds, but also they would have enjoyed a parabolic move to the upside over past months.

ENTER THE WORLD'S FIRST OPERATIONAL BITCOIN ATM

Upon examination of the marketplace and many discussions with Justin O’Connell (TDV Newsletter & Gold Silver Bitcoin), as well as another key strategic partner of ours, I have decided to move forward with that I believe could be the next multi-billion dollar business venture: Bitcoin ATM.

But that isn’t all. It is wholly our intention at Bitcoin ATM to put the company in the right position to open its very first ATM in Cyprus. If we did this now, and we are moving quickly to make this so, we would be the only functioning ATM on the island.

How do I know this is such a good idea? Just look at what Bloomberg recently wrote about Bitcoin as currency:

    One place where it’s not safe is in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is generally referred to as a “digital currency” or “virtual currency,” a form of cash that doesn’t need government backing. Unfortunately  it’s missing the most essential aspect of money: it’s not useful for buying anything. Bitcoin’s rise as a tool for financial speculation underlines the failure of the virtual currency idea.

As Dollar Vigilante readers will know, I take issue with a number of assumptions in this paragraph. For instance, no economic law exists (in the real world) which stipulates that cash needs government backing. Also, I have found that Bitcoin is useful for many things, not the least of which are the many things we accept Bitcoin for here at TDV Media, such as TDV Offshore, TDV Passports, TDV Newsletter, TDV Homegrown, and Get Your Gold Out Of Dodge.

I am not the first person to note Bitcoin’s Aristotelian attributes as money.

Durability: Bitcoin exists on the networks of users everywhere. Just like the internet, there is no singular switch to turn Bitcoin off. Bitcoin has already seen tremendous volatility, and the userbase has remained.

Portability: What’s more portable than a flash drive? Or, how about a private key memorized in your brain. There is nothing more portable than a thought, and that’s what Bitcoin can be if you memorize your private key and keep the coins on a cold storage medium (also another technology the Bitcoin ATM team has planned).

Fungibility: Bitcoin is divisible up to 8 decimal places.  That means that at its current growth (inflation) rate of 3,600 bitcoin-a-day, the ultimate total amount of 21,000,000 bitcoin ever to be on the market can be divided among billions of people on the planet.

Intrinsic Value: A bet for Bitcoin is a bet for the Internet. We all have first hand experience with the intrinsic value of the Internet. What’s more, Bitcoin values the notion of privacy in a world where privacy has become scarcer than silver.

In Europe, institutions like the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank & the German Federal Government have forced individuals to suffer through the confiscation and devaluation of their savings through techniques like taxes, levies and inflation.

The European Central Bank published a report in October, which stated that increased demand for Bitcoin “could have a negative impact on the reputation of central banks,” particularly if the public perceives Bitcoin’s value is due to “a central bank not doing its job properly.” Yet another reason why I know this idea is a good one.

These reasons and others are why I feel that Bitcoin ATM’s time is now. We picked our slogan, “Your Future Now,” to demonstrate the immediacy with which we feel we must roll out this technology.

I’ve founded many successful internet companies, and rarely have I been as excited about an idea as Bitcoin ATM. I’ve got a great, knowledgeable team who has already contacted important people within and without the ATM and bitcoin communities to make this feasible. You'll be intrigued by the unexpected relationships we're forging to bring Bitcoin to more people across the globe. In gauging shop owners in the digital currency unfriendly state of California last week, the Bitcoin ATM team discovered great interest from not only those who knew Bitcoin, but also from those who did not. Stateless currencies will be a way of the future, and that’s why Bitcoin ATM, and why now.

BITCOIN ATM FUNCTIONALITY

At this moment in time, you can deposit fiat currency into Bitcoin ATM and receive bitcoins to your account. You can also send bitcoins and receive fiat currencies (although there are some difficulties in the latter due to network-specific requirements). 

OWN YOUR OWN BITCOIN ATM'S - POSSIBLE BUSINESS VENTURE OF THE DECADE

Ever wish you had gotten involved in the early stages of the internet in 1994?  Or bought gold in 2000?  Or invested in Microsoft in the 80s?  I see bitcoin and things like Bitcoin ATM as being the next big thing.  And, this is not the first time I've recognized a massive paradigm shift as I did starting Canada's largest financial website in 1994... and became a gold advocate early in the last decade and starting up The Dollar Vigilante in 2009 with a focus on protecting from The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI)... something that is in full flight as people in Cyprus can attest.

As stated, we want to roll out these ATMs as quickly as possible.  Very obvious first locations would be in nations which are currently undergoing capital controls such as Argentina and Iran.  But, even more than that, there are communities of freedom minded individuals sprouting up all over the world.  A few bitcoin ATMs in the free state, New Hampshire, where thousands of freedom loving agorists have already moved is a no brainer.  Other areas that make complete sense include places like Chile where many are now gravitating as well as Cafayate in Argentina where Doug Casey has already formed his freedom loving expat community.

I am convinced bitcoin will be the currency of the future... and all the attacks on it by governments and central banks shows they know it. 

If you are interested in getting more info on becoming a franchisee in a particular area and installing a Bitcoin ATM in that region, please contact us at bitcoinatm@bitcoinatm.com.  As well, as things grow - and I expect it to be rapid - we may accept investors who are interested.  You can contact us about that at the same email bitcoinatm@bitcoinatm.com.

The headline implies an ATM has been installed in Cyprus, while the article itself seems like a hard-sell spiel for investors in such a scheme.

If they have indeed installed a Bitcoin ATM in Cyprus. Cypriot residents can then withdraw 100 EUR a day from their bank accounts, supposedly the maximum allowed under capital controls, and then purchase Bitcoin in an euro cost averaging manner.

On can build a decent Bitcoin portfolio by purchasing 100 EUR worth of Bitcoins a day.

This is massive news. This is a real entrepreneur, a successful one, pushing the ATM idea. At first I thought this was nothing since there has been so much vaporware on the ATM but I think that for the first time this is the real deal.

http://www.dollarvigilante.com/sites/default/files/blog/bitcoinatm.jpg

If this picture is actually from Cyprus, then this is huge. This could go round the world!

Edit: this looks shopped. Good shop though.

http://backpackies.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/72.jpg

is there any registration required to install one there?

I've followed Jeff for years. He'll make this happen if anyone can...

The real problem for this gaining world-wide acceptance however is that the places that need it most (i.e. Cyprus, Japan, Argentina, and the PIGS) are the exact places that have government who would be the first to ban bitcoins.

It seems that every franchise owner for these things would be risking the local government swooping in and stealing their whole business. :(

For now I'd be comfy seeing these things in the USA though; New Hampshire and Texas at least would use them like crazy.

Yes, Cyprus is good PR, but a waste of time. He should flood Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Germany with these ATMs.

He may yet... Or at least he may aggressively recruit franchisees there... He claims to have "hundreds" of orders from around the world, and he hasn't even finished a working unit yet to my knowledge.

Those "orders" are probably from bitcoiners from around the world mailing him and saying "you should put an ATM on my street, it will be awesome!".

The next round of bad news is going to be Australia and the US skimming 401ks/IRAs/retirement annuities, and that noise is going to explode next week.

Jeff Berwick is an entreprenuer that wants to make money. The best way to make money is to target the people that want to use the system so you're positioned where the volume is headed, not where it has already been.

Do you have a news source on this or is this hypothetical?  Not that skimming retirement funds directly instead of just forcing the money inside the retirement funds into treasury bonds would suprise me at this point.


With the number of new bitcoin rich (>1 million USD valuation), neither of are surprising.  I think that one of the main things driving the development of Bitcoin is that as the price rises, those people who have an interest in Bitcoin now have capital to work with.  It causes a positive feedback loop which I believe is driving the increase in price.  With how dispersed supporters are, even if people have selfish motives to have a Bitcoin ATM on their block, this should cause a fairly widespread deployment.  Which is a good thing.

Too bad that this idea seems to be 100% 'vaporware' so far - backed up only by a single photoshopped pic.
The off-the-charts press exposure suggests that it might be a success if/when it is actually released.

Eventually, they may be built and sold by that venture, but far more interesting would be an open-source project for re-purposing/conversion of existing commercial units into BTC ATMs. That way anyone could buy, convert, and operate a BTC ATM.

It would be mainly a software project (ATM software plus a server back-end) since ATM's already have the prerequisite bill dispensing, receipt printing and encryption hardware. Some also have envelope receivers for deposits to be verified manually or bill validation (for currency exchange/deposit).

Confirmation time is not really a problem: A withdrawal could be initiated on the server (by smart phone, etc), and a one-time ID/PIN sent to the user for an instant withdrawal a few minutes later. A receipt with a QR code address/key pair could be given for cash deposits which would be funded after manual verification if required.

If an open-source framework existed for the above it could be secure and easily deployable by anyone, anywhere, in any currency.

After all, an open-source, decentralized currency deserves no less than an open-source, decentralized ATM network.

I don't know about Argentina or the PIGS, but Cyprus has had literally no regulation on its financial industry. Just a few years ago things like Genius Funds were flying all over the place over there. If they can let that shit fly, why not bitcoin?

As for Japan, they already have MtGox and they haven't tried to pull anything stupid.

What are they going to do with the euros they receive in the ATM?  Put it in a Cyprus bank account? They cant fly it out. An island surrounded by water combined with capital controls can make things difficult.

Maybe they have access to a vault in Cyprus where they can store the cash? I wouldnt be surprised if GoldMoney have a secure vault in Cyprus. Anyone know?

Well, apparently they are getting more serious about transitioning from vaporware to real product:

Where did you get that quote from? I'd like to read the source.

It's authentic, was forwarded to me by someone who is friends with him on Wastebook.  I requested the full thread, pasted below with other names redacted for privacy, formatting is lost but it's still intelligible:

Thanks for that.

This will be very interesting to follow. Especially the regulatory response (if any) in the various countries where they're installed.

It could be proof-of-concept for a future open-source ATM project using low-cost existing hardware. Surplus dispensing ATM's are available for ~$1K.