Bitcoin Forum

I was sitting at the Laundrette with some clothes to wash after I had to go to the service station to get enough $1 coins to operate the machines when I realised how much easier it would have been if the washing machines and dryers had qr codes on a screen attached that worked when the right amount of bitcoins were sent to the machines.

So much easier than carrying bulk change around and you could also install a bitcoin atm there to get some bitcoins from. Waiting for confirmations wouldn't even be a problem since you are stuck there for however long it takes to wash your clothes....

And you wouldn't ever have to worry about thieves running off with all the change.

The main problem I see with this laundromat (and other things like vending machines) is that there needs to be an internet connection at some point, right?

Yep it would need a net connection, I guess you could hardwire them in to the building.

Bitcoin Oz no doubt you would have saved a lot of your time if $1 change you had got easily. I know how hard it is get change of $1 especially in early morning, due to which I surely think few vital steps are required amongst which bitcoin could be one. But really it’s volatility these days is the biggest headache for me at least. 

I don't think the current block size is ready to handle the transactions for all washer/dryers in the world. Probably a better idea to use BTC to reload your laundromat card balance.

One day my friend, one day .... :)

I think this would be an expensive feature to implement, but maybe in the future.

Expensive technology today is dirt cheap tomorrow (no washing pun intended).

Could work for other "slot machine" businesses but like the OP said, particularly suited to laundrettes because you have to wait an hour anyway. Perfect time for bitcoin :)

True, but I can't see these little launderettes with ancient washing machines subscribing to this. Maybe newer trendier ones (if they even have them?).

Its not an idea for today, but certainly yet another good idea to add to the list of "good uses for bitcoin"

I had an idea whilst waiting at the drive thru of McDonalds. I thought, wouldn't it be cool if I could just scan a qr code and pay for my crappy burger?

Hopefully in the future we'll see all sorts of businesses and services accepting and implementing Bitcoin.

The fries would be cold and chewy by the time the transaction cleared ;) definitely need to get the transaction confirmation issue improved somehow ... the utility would increase massively

That day is coming faster than you think. End of 2015 bitcoin will be well spreaded that you will pay with your phone for whatever you want. I am really looking forward to it

We could create another crypto-currency with a sufficiently large block size optimized for compact storage and high volume?

That'd be something few people expected - ethernet enabled washing machines.

One transaction should be good enough, and if the payment was unsuccessful they can just chalk it up as a loss. They lose money from fake money and credit card reversals anyway, so I don't see the problem.

It gives "money laundering" a whole new meaning  :)

It could order its own washing detergent when it runs out and get it delivered by amazon drones  8)

Me too, but I think it'll be longer than 2015 before we have full mainstream adoption, but I hope you're right. I hope some big companies get onboard the Bitcoin train in 2014.

are there even any prototypes  or working washing machines that accept bitcoin?

I doubt it. Maybe in the future though. I imagine them to look like giant rectangular ipads or something :D.

I hope everything doesn't look like giant ipads in the future. Hopefully it'll look like some futuristic Minority Report world where everything has a QR code on. That'd be ok.

Another altcoin, just what the world needs ;)

I've only been here a few days and all these alts are already annoying me.

washingmachinecoin , who wants to start it with me ?

Tumblecoin. Soapcoin, not much you can do with this one I think lol

Depending on the specific location, this should be possible with relative ease, and relative low cost. Rebuilding a washing machine to accept bitcoin, can be done for under $50. The one factor where you have to look at, is what does internet cost. you can hook all washing machine to basically a single mobile connection, but preferably you're gonna want a hard line. Dependable on where you are... these might be expensive, but overall they are pretty cheap (you should be able to get one for a low as $10 a month)

One factor to also keep in mind, is that you gotta adjust with exchange rates, with the way prices going now... it won't be fun to all of a sudden having to pay 20 bucks for laundry... :P

Would you have to wait for 3 confirmations before it starts? That could be a bit annoying.

what would i scan it with.  i don't have a cell phone

Paper wallet.

Probably use bitpay or coinbase ?

I dont know where they make commercial washing machines but if I had the resources Id be setting up a bitcoin-o-mat in a major city

and to get money on it, all i'd have to do is...?

Maybe the burger wrapper is a paper wallet ?

Just send money to it with a computer.

Join the revolution. Get a phone :)

imagine you went to a macdonalds website selected your order and paid for it. and then at the drive thru you just shout out an order number and simply wait for them t bag up the fresh cooked fries and burger.

much the same as costa coffee. instead of lining up at the cashiers desk to make an order. you sit at the table. type your table number and order into the website/app. pay for it. and just wait for your name/order number to be called out to fetch your drink. or have the staff walk it over to your table.

pizza hut in the UK already have this where you can order your pizza for collection, put in the 10 minute timeslot. select to pay by card or cash.. and then just tell them your name when you arrive. to receive your piping hot pizza thats only atmost 5 minutes old. as oppose to 40 minutes old if you waited for delivery. all pizza hut needs to do is accept bitcoin, and it would be perfect

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Bitcoin and that, but I fail to see how using Bitcoin in this situation is easier than coins? I'd prefer to just shove some coins in and off it goes. Using Bitcoin I'd got to arse about scanning codes etc... And if I can't get a signal on my phone I can't send them.

Bitcoin is great, but so is the convenience and ease of using cash.

vending machine is btc killer application

I always have my phone with me. I rarely have any coins in my pocket.

I'm still surprised that people are still singing and dancing about the risk of 0 confirmation transactions, or having to wait 10 minutes to buy a coffee, burger, laundromat token, etc.

There's plenty of topics on here and other websites that explain why no one would bother trying to double-spend attack such a small purchase, because it would take significant cost and effort to pull it off successfully.

There's only 2 things you need to do to stop the average person trying to double spend:

• Be connected to the internet, listening to other bitcoin transactions
• Check the transaction fee meets the protocol requirements

If you do those, then you're very safe. The cost for the "attacker" to double spend would far out weigh the reward of the the goods/services that they're attempting to steal from you.

Accepting 0 confirmation transactions is safer than credit card, and safer than coin operated machines that can be tampered with or raided in the absence of supervision.


this! if you fronted up the cost of a hard line you could have wifi running and attempt to charge people to use it while they're waiting for their washing... not sure if that would be successful these days where almost everyone has cheap mobile data.

Every time I go to get coins from the shops they look at me like I am a terrorist. It is not convenient at all to go hunting all over town for coins either.

I have had the same thought when using a coin operated laundry. With a service of that low of a value at stake, and the ability to capture a double spender on camera, the coin laundry wouldn't need to worry about confirmations either, and could accept 0-conf Txs. I don't think a double spend is any more likely than someone using fake coins they minted.

There needs to be an app wallet where you transfer BTC already cleared and ready to spend.

A pre-approved wallet would not need any waiting time.

But this would require knowledge of future transactions that haven't happened yet.  Unless of course they have already happened, in which case, they were verified as having occurred at some point in the past, and you don't now need to do anything - you've already paid.  However, fundamentally, for a transaction to ever occur there must, at some point, exist a time before it has happened and time after it has been verified to have happened, otherwise it has yet to occur.

it would be a big hub for hackers to hangout at!

Love the idea of a bunch of hackers hanging out at laundrettes. Not sure if there are enough hackers in the world, spare ones anyway ;)

It's really not that hard to put some coins aside when you get them in expectation of your laundry visit. Don't launderettes normally have lots of change any way?

They used to but it kept getting broken into.

They also break into the machines. Thats what junkies do.

If there is no actual cash on site and the bitcoins arent even stored there its less temptation for physical theft.

Don't the staff have plenty of change? The launderette my mate goes to he just asks the owner and they just swap him the money for change.

The junkie would just try and steal the bitcoin reader and sell it ;-)

...and if the confirmations don't come through, the tracked clothes are sprayed with crude oil, thus needing to be washed again.

Along with the big sign depicting, "All double-spenders WILL be prosecuted to the full extent of the law or, depending on on how we feel, your tracked clothes WILL be sprayed with crude oil. The Management. Thank you for choosing Woopwoop-Wishy-Washy."

Even in my little semi-rural midwest college town, we have a laundrymat that has wifi available already.

zero confirmations should be ok for such a business. only very small amounts of money.

Maybe the one here is different in that it is left open when no staff are around.