Bitcoin Forum

https://blockmanity.com/news/bitcoin/venezuela-to-get-its-first-bitcoin-atm/

It should be installed in Caracas in the next two weeks.

Good news for the Bitcoin enthusiasts in Venezuela. I do hope that some countries will do the same because that is where and how people will recognize what Bitcoin is, how it works and spread adoption. I am also thinking of high fees with atm's as they are few in the area or got only one unit. Some of my friends we also have in our country but with high fees in every transaction .

Yes this will be the good news for all of us who are thinking Bitcoin will going down and we need a lot of good and best news for the Bitcoin users to be enhance their mind to the good stage and it will be the useful things to the people also to withdraw bitcoin very easily and that is changing it.

The best business to start in Venezuela right now. I think that most people from Venezuela were struggling all this time to buy their cryptocurrency from localbitoins. Now they have an alternative easier than before. It can increase and let them make a better living as it is a way out of their current economic situation.

In Venezuela ? Isn't now a super bad time for its citizens ? I heard that Columbia is letting Venezuelans in their country with millions and the history tell us that this 2 countries were always friendly one with the other. To see a BTC ATM in such a country puts a joy in my heart as Venezuela deserves a lot better than now....

This would be a very good form of local publicity where people can buy bitcoin at their doorstep, and hopefully this would be the first of many, not just in Venezuela but other countries where the citizens are not very exposed to digital technology.

It's kind of good and bad news.
The Bitcoin volume in Venezuela raised in thousands percents in past 12 months because this is the only viable way to operate with money there. The good news is more people will have easiest access, the bad news is government and criminals could watch the ATM closely. A friend of mine living there told me that it's not the safest way to operate publicly with coins.

I heard that too, its quiet not safe but hopefully they will be more secured this time. I think cryptocurrency can help Venezuela to survive on their crisis right now, and if the result of this is positive we can expect that many country will also follow this move

Not the safest way in what manner? That ill minded individuals wait for people to buy Bitcoin through an ATM and then steal their private key that's printed in form of a paper receipt?

I'm sure that every Bitcoin ATM is placed in a crowded location where it is clearly visible to have people's attention for marketing and safety purposes. It's even happening with legacy ATM's that they are built into super markets or other buildings where there is a constant inflow/outflow of crowd.

I am a supporter of every fiat entry point, and this is one more that we can add to the list. Let's hope that pro maduro camps won't attempt to get rid of them. More support for Bitcoin means less potential support for their shitty Petro scam coin.

Bitcoin ATM being installed in Venezuela means intelligent people believe that Bitcoin will be the king of future currency.  Despite the bearish trend running in the market; such initiative being taken is definitely the result of farsightedness of the entrepreneur installing ATM. .

It's great to see more and more countries open to adopting Bitcoin and in general, digital currencies and moving with the times. I also think the company installing the ATM is going to make some handsome profits and it's these people that make the most money. Those people that bring something in for the very first time to be used. The Pioneers are also the great moneymakers, shakers, and movers and when there is a demand for something and they are first to market, they are the ones that will benefit most from all of this. I hope the People of Venezuela take advantage of this new digital currency and blockchain technology to improve their lives and future of their kid's lives as well.

Actually I hear the most about Venezuelan countries that support bitcoin, although there are many positive and negative responses to this, but I still hope that it can make bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies acceptable in other countries legally and have a favorable value for investors though it will be difficult to arrive at that but I'm sure slowly but surely bitcoin and crypto currencies will get a place in people's hearts.

I see that Venezuela is one of the countries that have the biggest bitcoin transactions even after Russia, I got this report from the p2p localbitcoin market. Chances are they are trading more on the big exchanges too, even though many Venezuelans are said to have left the country. Bitcoin ATMs will be more useful in that country, this is good news.

because the acute crisis in the country resulted in their currency being worthless. and finally the government adopted a policy to use cryptocurrency as a means of payment. with the presence of atm in the country, it shows that they are increasingly consistent using cryptocurrency, so it is expected that if many countries legalize it, they will be released from the crisis

This is becoming better for the Venezuelan country with a bitcoin ATM in that country, because all of them know that currently the Venezuelan country is experiencing money problems, the worst ekinomi at the moment, hopefully this will be better for the country in the future especially, cryptocurrency and bitcoin.

Seems you've never been in a country with attitude and problems like Venezuela.

Yes, the ATM is on crowded place but if you think that could save you from robbery or beating the sh*t out of you and rob you, you are in big mistake. Still its good to have more support for bitcoin and every other alternative. 

Congratutaion!

I wonder how long this will last, I've heard of government officials confiscating bitcoin miners from citizens already.  I doubt the government will stand by and let people freely convert to bitcoin while they are trying to implement their own state backed cryptocurrency.

Hmmmm, this came as a serious surprise
If they have indeed obtained licenses for it it will be like the news of the year.

With all the mess Venezuela is in, the whole petro fiasco letting people transfer their money into a currency they can't control?
If I remember correctly the ones that tried this in India ended up in jail, I do hope these guys have done their homework better.


From what I've seen in the news, when there is a crowd in front of a supermarket usually it takes a few seconds and the rumor that they have stocked with enough to make one portion of kasha to enter a mad max scenario...

LE:


Seriously? You envy people who live in a country with a million or something inflation, that have no food and ended up on a weight loss program of 10 kilos per citizen, you envy the people who have killed all the animals from zoos, that are fleeing by the millions a country that can't provide anything for their citizens, no food, no medicine, no nothing?

I envy those Bitcoin enthusiasts that are living in Venezuela. This is a great project having an ATM installed in Caracas. I do hope that our country, and might be all countries too will also adopt the innovation from Financial Technology like this. As a bitcoin enthusiast, I would love to at least spend and get my cryptocurrencies converted and accepted with an ATM. After a year, if no-one will still initiate this kind of project, I think it is me who will change the game.

I'm not that confident in a good outcome either. Maduro has been signalling that he doesn't like anything related to our crypto currencies, because more adoption here means less interest in his own little toy.

I just hope for the people there that they aren't being punished for using that ATM, because it honestly wouldn't surprise me with how Maduro doesn't give a damn about those who aren't cheering for him....

If you aren't cheering for him, even if you're completely neutral and not necessarily against him, he will make you wish you was. I'm glad that his coin hasn't been listed on an exchange yet.

yes good news to be heard because the presence of the Bitcoin ATM means that the general public has considered it a medium of exchange such as fiat currency.

Great news it show's bitcoin is gaining wider recognition because an bitcoin installed ATM machine is a true sign of acceptance and I hope for more of such development in the future. Bitcoin need to be brought closer to the people for easy access.

Venezuela is one country where BTC use could really be pushed. It's a country where people really are in need of an alternative to fiat. I don't think that Maduro will allow it though, he'll push Petro if he has to to replace Bolivars.

I bet that the queue to use these bitcoin ATM machines is going to be longer than the queue on the bridge going to colombia! Great that they are doing this, looks like venezuela is moving to be the first crypto country

I doubt it'll be that long and if it'll be used that much based on the fact that it's a new feature,and bitcoin ATM's even if areas were it's already been installed around the world haven't garnered the much publicity and expectations that was expected
We can be sure of things getting better and more people appreciating the use of such machines,in some areas it attracts high fees, I think that's whats making it less in use

That sort of what I was thinking.  From what I've read, a lot of Venezuelans are starving because of the crazy hyperinflation situation, and yeah a lot of them are just getting out of the country because of it.  Unless the citizens are actually using bitcoin in lieu of their own currency, I'm not sure how much of a success a BTC ATM is going to be.  Sure, it's a mark of progress as far as bitcoin goes but I'm a bit skeptical about its actual usefulness.

Say what?

I've tried to figure out what it is that the citizens are using for currency if they can't use their own fiat, but I haven't been able to find out exactly.  The US dollar seems like it would be a viable alternative, and I know that some other S. American countries have sort of adopted it as their own.  For some reason, those crappy Sacajawea or presidential dollar coins are popular in some of them.  And then I've read that Dash has started to make some headway in Venezuela, but it isn't clear to me the extent to which Venezuelans are actually using crypto.  If anyone has any hard data, I'd love to see it.

Have you been in Venezuela?

I'm not saying it saves you from ill minded individuals out to steal your coins, well placed ATM's however reduce the frequency at which it is possible to pull off something like that. You are making it look like there is a huge danger, which is greatly exaggerated, regardless of what country these ATM's are located.

Have stocked what, the ATM? There is nothing stored within the ATM related to Bitcoin. It fetches all the data from an external server, so you don't gain anything by trying to break/steal the ATM in the hope to get the Bitcoins inside.

Madro in theory is now less negative on all types of crypto as it allows them for an alternative source now sanctions via dollar is a real problem for them.   Why they cant just use the soviet Russian rouble as a proxy in their economy I dont quite understand but the fact Russia is also under sanctions is probably a large part of it.

1 single ATM 9 years after it was required to stem inflation, is far too little too late and sadly cant turn around the titanic failure that is this OPEC nations lament

Slight misunderstanding.
The atm is safe, nobody is going to try and steal bolivars when paper is more expensive.

I was saying that a store is not a safe place to be (for you as an individual) when it is restoking and word spreads out that this time they also have food for sale.

It might be old but I doubt things have improved:


Are you sure you would want to go near a store like that during those times?

This is actually a good news and I believe their will be an expansion as the demand is seen.
ATM is very important as venezuela is a crypto country already since people have shifted crypto to combat the hyper inflation.

Good job, hopefully more and more country will adopt with crypto and ATM is just a simple proof of adoption.

I still think it is useless. I mean after all the political problems of the history haven't we learned anything ? Have not learned anything from holocaust, the pol pot regime, the Russian soviet rebellion ?

People do not have problems because of economical reasons that are cash related. You can give someone hundreds of dollars, hell you can give all of Venezuela hundreds of dollars in cash, it won't solve the problem. They lack food and they are starving, they need food, a bitcoin ATM will not change anything on that front. You can't buy food with bitcoin ATM after all.

You can hide your money in bitcoin to make sure your money is not affected by the losing of value in their currency but that is already too late and stuff are getting more and more expensive not because their money loses value but because everything is scarce and its hard to find something there which makes people that own stuff a lot more richer by just selling to the highest bidder.

I don't think this is going to be very useful, but I'll take pics if i get to know where exactly is this ATM being put...
Thing is, in Venezuela the biggest banknote would net you a few satoshis at best, and this is a fiat that loses half its purchasing power every day...

The typical monthly wage is 20k (about 8 USD). The biggest banknote is 500 VES, around 5k satoshis each.

Looking at their previous ad (they have ATMs in Panama City):
https://i.ibb.co/8jRdPPW/image.png
"Only 5% fee"...

You can bet its going to be inside a mall...

In my country there are already 3 bitcoin ATM installed, hearing that news is also quite good, because by installing bitcoin atm I think there is a big crypto community, so this can also be an attraction for other users. but the lack of bitcoin ATM is a high fee even so it does not affect the attractiveness of crypto investment.

At the same time, not very good news comes from Venezuela. First, President Maduro decided to pay pensions to pensioners only in the local cryptocurrency El-Petro. I just do not know how there grandmothers cope with the latest technology. This will be very problematic.
Secondly, yesterday, the day before yesterday, an attempt was made by the military against Maduro and a dozen people were arrested there. The coup failed, but tensions will exist for a long time.

Since suffering high inflations several times ago i heard people at there starting to use cryptocurrencies but after that i was never heard any news regarding them until this news appears but as the situations still bad in Venezuela whether it will be effective or not because in the middle of bad situations people went to Peru to avoid crisis and it seems the exodus still hasn't stopped yet

Quoting myself here, but you still think there is something that can be called a safe place there?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/23/nicolas-maduro-accuses-mike-pence-trying-force-coup-venezuela/

No atm and no coin is going to save that country or its people

Apparently, CryptoBuyer didn't manage to install their ATM in Venezuela in the end. Their webpage points to ATMs places in Panama, but not Venezuela. I’ve read a few articles referring to CryptoBuyer’s attempt as a failed attempt, without revealing the reason.

Nevertheless, this weekend, a Venezuelan exchange called Twenty (Veinte) has installed the first BATM in Caracas - Venezuela (now for real). Currently you can purchase BTC and Dash by depositing dollars in the ATM (not Bolivares), and is allegedly not capped per operation (subject to ATM’s wallet balance). 

See: https://currencymarket24.com/venezuela-has-its-first-atm-to-buy-bitcoin-and-dash-breaking-news/

Very cool and thank you for updating this thread.  I have not been following the situation in Venezuela like I should but it makes perfect sense that the ATM only takes dollars.  Is the bolivar still hyperinflated? 

I just wonder how much use the one machine is going to get, because it has been my impression that the people of Venezuela had not turned to bitcoin or any other crypto as an alternative, and I bet that there won't be many people wanting to use what few dollars they have to buy something as volatile as bitcoin (or dash for that matter).

Are there any Venezuelans here who can weigh in on this?

True, but I don't think that was ever the point of it.  The change has to come politically first, and economics second.  Bitcoin isn't going to help either one of those things, and adoption of crypto by Venezuelans can only come after the country is resurrected.  I wish them the best.

Dollars arent freely available in Venezuela because its subject to sanctions, they had the problem of a false (fixed) exchange rate for years so I think its own government is also trying to force use of Bolivar which they print of course.    I dont see the ATM would be as useful as phone and peer to peer exchange of BTC in trade use, crypto can keep up with that constant inflation problem perhaps but dollar is just another slower inaccurate currency from another land.   Maybe its useful in that it can leverage and help increase circulation of the limited amount of dollars available in that area, crypto is then used to transport value across the whole country where dollar notes are less common then the border.

Yes, bolivar is still hyper-inflated, thus there is likely a capacity/value issue related to only accepting USD: accepting Bolívares would possibly require the BATM to have a pretty large deposit for the bank notes. New bank notes have been released within the past few months, with a value of up to 50.000 Bolivares (100 fold up from former current largest bank note, but still with a value of 2 to 3 USD). Then there is the inflation effect of the bank notes losing value from one day to another just by sitting in the BATM until they are deal with administratively.

As to the extent of preference of BTC over USD, I’ll relay the question on the Spanish local board to try to get some inner insights.

Looks like they beat them to the BATM placement, but not to claiming being the first on the news (with enough coverage) ...

It might be the first in Caracas but it's not the first in Venezueala
A month ago this one was set up:
https://coinatmradar.com/bitcoin_teller/9457/bitcoin-teller-bitcoin-teller-san-antonio-del-tachira-viajes-e-inversiones-hc/
There is also another one in Merida, but not updated on coinatmradar

This cant help them with economy in general

Woe fantastic news with Venezuela and they are looks so serious about how to adopt bitcoin become legal transaction there, last week they have discuss about bitcoin or cryptocurrency become legal payment there for building an economic crisis in Venezuela, but now Venezuela have ATM for cash out bitcoin become money.

What is the point of installing a Bitcoin ATM in this country?

Given the situation in Venezuela, whether someone will harm him,
but to establish an ATM in Turkey would make sense.

Both Bitcoin and dollar are available in this country. The question is - who can use them? only those people, who initially have money...tons of national currency and USD. However, even those, who have the minimum money, convert it to BTC to avoid sanctions. People are also waiting for economic reform in Venezuela. If it happens, those, who keep crypto, will be saved from the shocking changes.

I'm not surprised at this news. Because Venezuela is a country experiencing an economic crisis, and bitcoin becomes widespread in the economic crisis. People are turning to crypto to protect their money against rising inflation and therefore bitcoin is becoming widespread in crisis countries. That's why I always say, bitcoin and cryptocurrency are the key to getting out of the economic crisis. This applies not only to venezuella, but also to Argentina, another crisis country.

The whole word are watching in Venezuela of their economic crisis and the crypto communities are also watching if Bitcoin could trully help a down economy therefore if the country will recover with the help of Bitcoin then this will shows of how important is the Bitcoin is in which it will result to more Bitcoin adoptation to come in return.

Please enlighten me how Bitcoin is going to renew the Venezuelan economy? As far as I am concerned, Bitcoin is a currency and its role is not to give boosts to struggling economies. Ordinary Venezuelans can use Bitcoin as a store of value, and some of them are already using it for this purpose. But from what I have heard, gold and USD are far more popular. One major factor that is pulling down the economy is the sanctions imposed by the United States. And I don't think that Bitcoin is of any use here. Cryptocurrency can't be used as a tool to circumvent the sanctions. It is not designed for that purpose, and it is not very easy to use it for that purpose.

That's good to hear. Bitcoins becoming more popular as time passes by, and this is what bitcoin needs. It's an alternative to e-wallets with the same service and possibly more secure against malicious programs since securities at banks are much reliable than what's installed on your personal computers or gadgets. And having a card definitely feels better and treating it as an asset of yours.

However, the banks would be intermediary and is responsible for your keys and such. The good thing is that you have insurance if somehing happens? Do they impose extra fees? And your personal information isn't anonymous anymore.

Damn, that's crazy, I thought BTC ATMS would be a huge commodity in Venezuela, especially with the huge amounts of volume they do every week, with the amount of spreads the ATMs have, surely it'll be super profitable.

We'll I'm happy it's finally happened, only just 10 or so months after it was promised to happen though, I think more BTC ATM's need to become more avaliable to us before BTC can truely get huge.

Bitcoin gives the ordinary Venezuelans another option to securely store their wealth. US Dollar banknotes and gold coins are not very safe, as crime rate is very high in Venezuela. The advantage with Bitcoin is that it can be stored in a digital format without the help from any third party, and it is not easy to find out how many coins a particular individual owns.

Good to see such type of news which makes me delighted, It's really a good thing when a country started ATM service regarding BTC. Since Venezuela is suffering a monetary crisis for a long time and I don't know how it's working for the shake of their economy and welfare of their population, but they have to invent different ways to get recovered from this draught, I believe that short of the initiative will encourage another country to take on, I know Germany has already taken the lead of Bitcoin revolution. We have to wait for a long time to see this trend available in every country because Still Dollar and Gold are the most popular tools for holding and saving for the future purpose.

Well... the first part is OK, but not the second part. From what I have heard, the ordinary citizens of Venezuela are using Bitcoin, along with other assets such as gold and USD as a store of value. With the national currency losing its value every day, they can't store their wealth in the form of fiat. But the issue is that it is not easy to purchase any of these assets. I have heard about premium (or markup) in excess of 30%.

But using it as a currency for shopping is not very common. And I don't think that the government is going to tolerate it. As long as the people use Bitcoin as a store of value, they are going to be fine. The government may not be happy with it, but they will get along. But using BTC as a currency (i.e replacing the national currency) is not something that the government is going to just sit back and watch.

Arley Lozano Panda Group and CEO the founder of PandaBTM is the responsible for setting up of the country’s first Bitcoin ATM in Venezuela, thanks to Him. And it is very nice to know that another state like Venezuela has atm for btc.The said atm allows consumers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with fiat depository transmittal like bank.

Because of this, we can see the better future of btc and other altcoins around the world, additional ATM machine which offers exchanges of fiat to altcoins and vice versa is another big stepping stone for high speed of innovation and exchanges.

I’ve been trying to find out on my local board a bit more about the situation in Venezuela and how BATMs may have any impact there at all.

First we need to remember that they are living in a situation that is pretty dire, with a  galloping hyperinflation and minimum wages set at just a couple of dollars. That is roughly what it costs to purchase a kilo of meat and a dozen of eggs or so over there. In the last 30 day, their local currency, the Bolivar, has depreciated around 50% vs the USD. Food and supplies are scarce, with people needing to cross the frontiers to countries such as Colombia in order to be able to get them (those that can), and essentials such as medicine are tough to obtain, especially in Caracas. In addition, crime rate is very high, even more so in the capital.

All the above deems a Bitcoin ATM something very different from how we see it from a first world country’s point of view. Whilst some may be seeing at a positive element towards BTC extension to other latitudes, the truth is that it is not an exotic item to be used by crypto enthusiastics and anonymous investors. Rather more, Venezuelans prefer to, if they can, obtain USD and other currencies such as Colombian Pesos (especially those close to the frontier), as a means to fight hyperinflation on their personal economy.
Those that are more tech-savvy or bold, may venture into Bitcoin, many with the intent of making a profit, where the profit (above the investment) is sold for currency in order to cover basic needs. That is not exempt from risk, but the dire situation claims for boldness and, yes, risk. Selling BTC is also not trivial. Many resort to Local bitcoins or crossing the frontier and selling them in physical exchanges that accept BTC in bordering countries.

BATM placement is also something to consider. Using it in longish operations on an open place is pretty risky due to crime rates. The one placed in San Antonio del Táchira (near the border with Colombia) is locates in a travel agency on the main street, and that helps for it to be secure to some extent.

I m sorry to tell you , we dont have any bitcoin atm in venezuela. Why we confuse pos machine and bitcoin atm?

The last time a company was tried to install a bitcoin atm , the goverment asked 15% fees and the company gave up.

Are you talking about Venezuela, or some other country? Do you have any proof for this? If this information is accurate, then they should have bargained with the government and tried to get the fees reduced. Most of the government officials have zero knowledge about Bitcoin and with some awareness they could have taken a less hostile stance. But still, it is encouraging that the government initially allowed the ATM to be set up (in my country, when the last time someone tried to do that, he ended up in jail).

Although this 15% fee sounds really high, I don't think that it affects them in a big way. The ATM users will be paying this (on top of your commissions), so they are not going to incur any losses. I agree that 15% is very high. But if there are no other options, then people would be willing to give it a go. During 2014/15, when there were not many Bitcoin sellers in India, it was common to see ads in Localbitcoins of merchants asking commissions up to 10% or 15%. So this is not very uncommon.

This is a great news for bitcoin, it will surely be a big step for the dominance of bitcoin in the world. Little by little, bitcoin and other cryptos are already taking over small monetary systems in the world. I've also read before that there are some stores that already accepts bitcoin and altcoins and it should give us massive hope for the future of crypto.

Technically, the one installed in San Antonio del Tachira is a BTM, not an ATM, and therefore does not technically count as an ATM in some inventories that are made on ATMs worldwide.

The BTM is installed by Panda BTM, and is a portable device similar to those used to pay with your credit card at a store. The idea here is that the shop teller assists you in the purchase, and you end up paying in cash (although I have seen a video where both customer and seller use their fingerprints to access the device, so there may be some account related method that is not currently listed in Panda BTM’s website – it states cash).

See https://www.bitcoin.com.mx/panda-btm-coloca-el-primer-cajero-automatico-de-bitcoins-en-venezuela/ (in Spanish) and https://pandabtm.io (English selectable).

The one I mentioned yesterday that was installed in Caracas, is a "conventional" BATM, and is installed by a company that apparently is registered to the SUNACRIP (government authority in Venezuela that is responsible for all crypto-related regulation there).

The 3 merits are for making my brain melt dealing with those three!!!  ;D ;D ;D

Ok...so, if you have time explain to me like I'm really stupid cause I feel like right now :P
This the article from the true ATM, right?
https://currencymarket24.com/venezuela-has-its-first-atm-to-buy-bitcoin-and-dash-breaking-news/

So how is this one different from the other?

I know I’ve been on about this BATM in Venezuela lately quite a bit … I’t pretty interesting, but the most important thing I’d like to re-emphasize is the fact that a BATM is seen differently there due to the dire situation of the Venezuelans. The usage is the same (purchase or sell crypto), but the aim is rather much different (pretty much survival there vs a normally more enthusiastic/techno/freak/investor approach for example in, lets say Europe).

On to your question, the article you reference above is a translation from this one: https://www.criptonoticias.com/comunidad/adopcion/venezuela-primer-cajero-comprar-bitcoin-dash (by the way, I didn’t see the reference to credit the Spanish version within the English one). The translation is pretty good, but not as precise as should be when stating "The cashier receives USD in cash to effectuate the sale of the cryptocurrencies". In Spanish, you use the term "Cajero" nowadays more related to ATM ("cajero automático") than cashier (person). The original intent was related to ATM, but was loosely translated as "cashier" which is normaly the person.

Regardless, the link I provided above (Spanish version of the article) contains an embedded tweet that has a photograph of the ATM (AKA "cashier"). The instructions on screen state “3. Put cash into the machine”. Voilá …

In summary:
1) Jan 2019: CryptoBuyer announced the first ATM in Venezuela, to be installed in Caracas.
It was installed, tested, but never went live for some reason I have not been able to trace.
 
2) September 2019: BTM installed in San Antonio del Tachira (a few kilometres off the frontier with Colombia). The BTM is a tiny device, portable, and that requires both customer and shopkeeper to perform the TX, normally in cash. The company is Panda BTM.

3) October 2019: second BTM installed in Mérida.

4) November 2019: First (again) ATM installed in Venezuela (Caracas). This time it seems to be open to public and is fully operational (alas some issues during tests, rendering no BTC available, only Dash – later resolved). (B)ATM looks like a (small) money ATM, and is self-suficcient.


ATM:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EGC0eh7W4AI1Ju7.jpg


BTM:
https://www.diariobitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/panda-exchange-coinatmradar.jpg

And every day you learn something new.
I have never seen one of those things live, and I never thought coinradarmap would be listing them, then you could add all the tobacco shops in France and all the Zebrapay (?) terminals in Romania (I don't know if they are still active) if we add this one. There was also PayPoint in the UK with 20k shops but some partnership went totally wrong.

It says ATM then it should be automated. That one is more like HATM (human-assisted)

Oh, and...


5) December 2019: Maduro bans bitcoin trasnactions  ;D

Not really sure if this could help the situation happening in Venezuela. It's a good thing that installation of bitcoin ATM is increasing not only in Venezuela but also in other country... But I'm more focused on the situation in Venezuela whether this ATM could help them or not. Or if it's really a good thing for the citizens or the government are the one that will benefit from it.
Since Venezuela is having a big issue in their country, why not the government focus on solving it rather than this... Or is it their solution to solve the problem? I am not against this since it could be a step to achieve adoption... Since this post was last january and now it's October, what does this ATMs have done for the people of Venezuela? Was it helpful or not??

First Bitcoin ATM and partnership between PundiX and Traki, Venezuela's largest retail chain, who plans to install physical systems throughout country to allow customers to pay in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Well, I definitely didn't expect such huge steps will take place exactly in Venezuela :D

This was from January? This went right through my radar. Almost didn't believe it considering their previous stance on cryptos. Maybe they've finally decided they can use it as a buffer?


Well, there's always that risk. The guy outright expropriates businesses so I wouldn't be surprised if it does happen. ;D

If he bans the transactions, then the users will go underground. But on a serious note, I don't think that he'll do that. Even Maduro realize that it is not Bitcoin that caused economic collapse in his country. And bans are useless, when he don't have a large police force to enforce the measure. From what I have heard, more than half of the police force have gone AWOL, as the salaries are getting delayed.

I think Venezuela have one of the most engaging people into Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and now wonder why as their national paper money became worthless due to extravagant inflation. I kinda envy them because they are so familiar with this phenomenon and they trust Blockchain like no otters...meanwhile in my country if you use bitcoin you're illegal and you are surfing dark web and you're a drug dealer ...this is the mentality which is sad to bare...this is why I barely speak about Bitcoin to strangers.

Honestly, nothing to envy. Whomever has familiarity there with BTC is basically due to their dire situation, and they tend to keep it rather much to themselves for fear of people trying to steal them from them. As things stand, it’s almost an every man for himself kind of situation, where the BTC becomes a choice for the boldest pretty much out of despair.

We need to implement it everywhere in the world where there is an economical gap between the first world countries and third world countries.

When the big nations make almost all the money and the small nations are left with crumbs, the best case of scenario small nations could do is moving their workers towards bitcoin payments globally, paying something 100 euroes in europe is not a huge amount, it is definitely doesn't mean free but it is not huge, people pay more than that on a good meal outside (like really good) but 100 euroes could be a whole months salary for someone in third world country, they have to take advantage of bitcoin and it is beauty in those countries to make up that difference and take the money from first world countries to live and best way to do it is bitcoin and BTM machines.

Poverty is good for bitcoin!


Yes comrade, too bad it's 2019 and nations don't pay their workers anymore, except for the government employees.


Indeed comrade, we should take the money from the evil rich countries and give it to the poor so they could spend it and become poor once again. For the glory of the working man and the soviets!!


The expression "even he/she/x" is losing its meaning when you add Maduro to it, his stupidity is just as the universe, infinite.
And secondary, yes, he has the power to impose a ban, he might not have the police but he has the army and he has his bands of mercenaries, and furthermore in the situation the country is nobody gives a damn about human rights so after 1 hour of interrogation thee you'll remember you are Satoshi's brother. And the poorer people are, the cheaper and more efficient snitching becomes.

To an extent, Bitcoin would have actually help them to do some damaging control to their economy if they had fully implemented it also, but it seems that they are still not fully into it as I have already seen where they have a proposal to create their own cryptocurrency which is to be called petro coin, and I really don't think that this coin will get so much support as some countries like US is already saying some negative stiff about it.

Though to an extent, it is not actually of any business of USA to discredit a project that they feel will help their country, but instead of creating their own coin, I would rather have preferred that they work with a currency that is not being controlled. If they come up with their own currency now, I am sure that we will still have some people that will still hijacked it and still be able to manipulate it.

Well.. you have a point there. A ban hasn't been imposed yet and I haven't heard any rumors about the government considering such a step. But in case they decide to impose a ban, then there is a very good chance that the ordinary Bitcoin users may end up harassed by Maduro's goons. I could think of only one solution. If any Venezuelans have some coins in their wallet, then they should just immigrate to either Colombia or Brazil rather than residing in that god forsaken country.

It is a good step taken by them. At least people in Venezuela will be able to use or know about crypto currencies just because of that one ATM. But I really hope those ATM fees won't drive them away from buying bitcoin. Also as far as i know, those ATM spends very low mining fee thus confirmation time takes a lot making people really frustrated (i have seen someone literally crying and becoming impatient for of slow confirmation speed).

Bitcoin ATMs are a good advertisement among the population that uses little Internet and is little aware of new technologies. Moreover, this business niche is still empty in this country, so I think those people who will be the first to engage in this business will be able to make a good profit on commissions for exchange operations.

I hope this kind of events will also happen in other countries whether it is small or big countries. Having an ATM especially when it is bitcoin or other cryptocurrency simply means that their country is really into cryptocurrency because they approved this kind of transactiion. If most of the countries will do the same in putting bitcoin ATM then it will help the people to get a chance to invest and make some money through bitcoin.

yes it is already happening on most of the countries  . small and big countries that adapt bitcoin , they do also install a btc powered atm to give more convinience to btc users and also to help promote btc even further .

having an atm alone is not an indication that one country is into crypto but btc powered atm are enough evidence that a country gladly support cryptos  .

good to know that controversial country like venezuala are now getting involved on this events   . this is a sign that thier country is recovering from its financial tragedy

It's a good thing that Venezuela has its own BTC atm machine. It will be easier for them to purchase and transact using Bitcoin. I just wish that we'll have that kind of ATM in our country as well. There are lots of crypto users here so it will be an advantage to have bitcoin atm machines to transact faster and more convenient. If every country would have that kind of machine, more people will be able to purchase and would get interested in crypto since it's another form of btc promotion.

I have read that the Venezuelan country has been hit by the problem of the economic crisis, if this country can develop quickly and many cryptocurrency that have emerged even many cryptocurrency ATMs can have a good influence but in addition there are still some risks that can have a negative impact on the country's economic conditions .

It is good to see that the corrupt government is supporting bitcoin which is funny considering the policies they made destroyed the entire economy but the major doubt i have is that what will be the transaction charges levied in bitcoin ATM, the rest of the world charges a higher amount and have some limitations if you are using ATM but what is the situation here in Venezuela.

This is good news for Venezuela. Venezuela, including countries that have legalized bitcoin as a means of payment. they use bitcoin as an alternative after the Bolivar currency falls due to hyperinflation. so now most of the population has used bitcoin for payment. with the increasing number of countries that have bitcoin ATMs it will support bitcoin for mass adoption. every year the number of bitcoin ATMs is always increasing this is good news for cryptocurrency.

It's  a welcome  development from the  government Bitcoin will really help those who know about it in Venezuela because their currency and economy is so down,  that's a good news  I believe we are getting there,  more ATM and more adoption incoming

They may be paying a license fee on top of royalty charges. It is going to be expensive, as the user will have to pay a certain percent in government taxes on top of the 5-6% charged as commission by the ATM provider. But even then, I guess paying 10-15% premium may be better than holding Bolivar banknotes which get devalued by more than 10% everyday.

This has happened in some other places as well. As far as I remember the incident was taken place in a shop based on UK. Armed Robbers steal Bitcoin from a ATM. Here is the brief article how this incident took place https://all-stocks.net/armed-robbers-steal-a-bitcoin-atm-from-a-shop-in-the-uk/ Not a good news for the Bitcoin investor. :)

As i know crypto adoption in venezuela is very high. Than you dont have own currency you need to use crypto instead

good news about the development of bitcoin in my country the development of cryptocurrency still cannot be fully recognized by the government in my country and the government still prohibits direct transactions using cryptocurrency if slowly many countries use bitcoin means the development of cryptocurrency is experiencing positive progress and that is what every investor expects

People don't have much option. When the national currency becomes worthless, you will try to store wealth in any asset that you can get your hands on. The situation is so worse in Venezuela, that they are using a highly volatile asset such as Bitcoin (which has dropped from 12K to 8K in two months) as a store of value. You can't blame them, as the national currency has declined by even more. But from what I have heard, the primary option remains as USD, followed by gold. But the advantage with BTC is that it is in digital format, and therefore it can't be stolen (which is a big issue there).

Venezuela's economy has been experiencing hyperinflation at rate of 10 million percent, it is combination of collapse of their food infrastructure and hyperinflation, so they suffered from food shortages and lack of basic services that cause malnutrition and poverty to their  country.

Having a Bitcoin ATM in their country, is a great news for all of, especially to their country, little by little they are coping up with their financial crisis and they have seen crypto as one of the tool that they can use to start with.

Having a Bitcoin ATM in Venezuela will be having its own challenges. For example, if someone converts his fiat currency to BTC using this ATM, then the user does not need to worry much about his wealth. But the ATM provider is getting fiat cash in his account, which gets devalued at a rate of 50% or 60% a day. So by the time the ATM owner processes this cash, he will be incurring a loss.

But I am not sure whether the ATM works both ways (crypto to fiat and fiat to crypto). If it allows just crypto to fiat conversion, then the service provider should be OK. He will be getting BTC in his wallet, which he can convert to some stable currency such as USD or EUR, in order to purchase more Bitcoins from the global exchanges at a later point.

That's true as the situation in Venezuela is not good due to various factors like the economical crisis due to which it's national currency became worthless and apart from USA and gold the only way which they can secure their national treasure is by converting it into bitcoin or any widely used stable coin and I think they are still working on the concept of their own digital currency named PETRO which they wanted to create in the past. Because they cannot be fully dependent on crypto due to volatile nature.

This must be a good story for venenzuela citizens and must be a catalyst for further economic growth. Due to economic crisis, political tensions happening in Venezuela accepting cryptocurrency will surely help citizens be stable somehow since it is tough to even earn a half decent income. Relying on crypto currency isn't a bad idea though investors in Venezuela might encounter more financial drought due to market fluctuations but what could be a good option rather than drowning in so much debt.

Have bring effect for Venezuela after legal and have bitcoin ATM for increase their economic condition? Venezuela government have frustration with their money value unless last two months, they want to make bitcoin and altcoin become legal transaction and give effect for people can get value with their investment with bitcoin and altcoin, they have adopt last three months and I think will raise up Venezuela economic'sh

Does anyone know if this went thru and they started the bussines in Venezuela?
My thoughts are that this country is in pretty strong grip regarding ant economics and it includes crypto coins so for my it is hard to believe that this concept worked there.

here is the latest news about the first ATM< https://cointelegraph.com/news/after-multiple-false-starts-venezuela-may-have-its-first-bitcoin-atm
so maybe this has been be push through yet.


With their big problem on hyper inflation this crypto ATMs will certainly help the people especially to those who are earning online, so I am hoping that the government are also supportive with this as this kind of business requires permit IMO.

Still having a Bitcoin ATM, being involved in Bitcoin will be a great start for them, of course this is not only the solution that they need, they still need to do other things for them to be recover from the financial crisis they are currently facing. Let's keep updated what will be their strategy from this aside from involving in crypto world.

good development with cryptocurrency if it can happen also in other countries and I am sure in the future the development of cryptocurrency will be rapid if all countries recognize cryptocurrency as the prevailing currency in my country cryptocurrency has not been fully recognized by the government even the government prohibits transactions directly with crypto currencies

very good news for Venezuela and the crypto world...
especially in countries that are economically depressed and/or restricted, having access to cryptocurrencies might help a lot of people in savings, store of value, etc
Let's hope that in a few months they realize the need of many more ATMs in South /central america

In my own opinion, having bitcoin ATM can be convenient for every people in Venezuela when it comes to converting their bitcoin into fiat, but i think it may have huge fees depending on the amount that you are about to withdraw. Honestly, i also wanted to experience the convenience of having bitcoin ATM in our country for me not to have any troubles in converting my bitcoins into fiat.

Its great news for the community as a whole because this is the first step for mass adoption of these digital coins and many more ATMs will be opened soon.Bitcoin hepled Venezuela to rise out of economic crisis by boosting its economy and now its heping people living there by providing crypto related services to them.Its good when you can conevert you btc into fiat with the help of atm cards at your convience.But the withdrawl fees will be high which can be a major issue for them but still its good news.

This should be a celebration not only in Venezuela but to the whole community of Bitcoin believers, as we are in adoption period by some countries, although Venezuela is not that rich country and is facing a financial crisis at the moment, still they tend to believe in Btc and trying to find ways for their country to recover, thumbs up to them.

I believe that bitcoin ATMs in Venezuela and the rest of the world are a very useful thing for the future development of blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the world.
Indeed, even if now people do not have enough funds to use cryptocurrencies in the future, the situation may change, and in this case we should already have a developed infrastructure that allows all people in a wide range of countries to easily exchange and withdraw cryptocurrencies.

I agree it should be a celebration for the whole community of bitcoin. But even this happens I hope Venezuela regain their financial crisis. I'm happy that they adopt bitcoin, and like you said that they tend to believe in bitcoin. But unhappy on the other side that Venezuela must face the financial crisis before they grasp bitcoin to secure their economy. :)

I don't understand all the fuss. Bitcoin ATMs operate all around the world. What is so special about this ATM in Venezuela? To be honest, I am not very happy with the Venezuelan regime's soft stand on Bitcoin. As you may be aware of, Venezuela is currently under United States sanctions. If the US government suspect that the regime is using Bitcoin to circumvent the sanctions, then they will adopt measures which can have a negative impact for the cryptocurrency market.

Im really happy to them because they have already bitcoin atm which is really helpful for them to buy and sell bitcoin or making transaction it. Hoping more bitcoin atm will be there in the next few months so many people will curious and high possibility for them to invesy also maybe in the future.

Philippines is my country and we have few bitcoin atm and for sure in the next few years there is a lot of atm here will have.

I think this is a cool news to us. Btc is the most potential coin and because of digital currency this is so much easy to transaction it. I think in future majority country should legal Bitcoin.

This is great as the adoption and propagation of cryptocurrency is growing. According to the latest data, about 5 thousand ATMs have already been installed in the world, and today there may be even more of them. This is good news for crypto enthusiasts.

this is good news, though I hear Venezuela is currently experiencing a crisis...

I hope Bitcoin can help a few Bitcoin lovers in Venezuela and of course hope that Bitcoin ATMs can spread all over the world.

This is awesome, I also have one in my country but this is being traced by the government so it's not really safe to use unless you report your income, expenses, etc

and after more than a year the OP posted this thread, the number of bitcoin ATM in Venezuela is still 1. very very slow progress here. wonder if the first one really gained local support from their crypto users?
 because if it did attract interest, second or third ATM should already be installed.

https://coinatmradar.com/country/231/bitcoin-atm-venezuela/

Thank you for the good wishes to the Venezuelans for the installation of the Bitcoin ATM. I was investigating and there are three Bitcoin ATMs installed in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
The first was installed in a department store called Traki to buy Bitcoin and Dash.
The second ATM was installed in the Eurobuilding Hotel with the same characteristics.
The third ATM was installed at the Hotel Tamanaco to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dash and Litecoin.
It should also be noted that the Eurobuilding Hotel began receiving payments with bitcoin, litecoin, ether, Dash, Binance coin and the stablecoin tether at its headquarters located in Caracas as a project pilot to know the acceptance of its clients by the new means of payment and implement it in all the other locations of the Hotel in the country.

https://coinatmradar.com/bitcoin_atm/9891/bitcoin-atm-lamassu-caracas-traki-store/ (https://coinatmradar.com/bitcoin_atm/9891/bitcoin-atm-lamassu-caracas-traki-store/)

https://es.cointelegraph.com/news/a-new-crypto-machine-will-be-installed-in-caracas-this-time-it-will-be-used-to-buy-and-sell- using-dollars (https://es.cointelegraph.com/news/a-new-crypto-machine-will-be-installed-in-caracas-this-time-it-will-be-used-to-buy-and-sell- using-dollars)