Bitcoin ATMs spreading very slowly it seems...

[OROBTC]

...

Every month or so I check the couple of websites (showing BTC ATMs) as well as the Facebook page re the International Bitcoin group.

But, I am dismayed that these BTC ATMs (I saw "BTMs" written elsewhere, clever) do not appear anywhere near my city.

Maybe BTC is not catching on?  Or have they changed the rules FORCING showing ID?  (The one BTM I used in NYC required no ID).


How are BTC ATMs catching on (or not)?

[RGBKey]

Nobody really wants to put a large investment into a machine that probably won't get much use. They're cool, and the concept is great but not that many people just go up to this machine and buy magic internet money.

[RustyNomad]

As RGBKey said above, these machines are quite an investment and in order to make them viable you need turnover i.e. many transactions.

If you invest in one machine and its does not end up paying for itself the chances of you investing in another is small.

[RGBKey]

I even saw a thread a few days ago of someone asking for help because their ATM wasn't working and nobody really knew how to help him. Might have something to do with bad manufacturers also, not enough support.

[ralle14]

i hope its spread in every country eventually
so that ppl can be more aware about bitcoin

[RGBKey]

i hope its spread in every country eventually
so that ppl can be more aware about bitcoin

Yes, it seems like we're at the point where to buy bitcoin you have to jump through twenty hoops just to get "verified" by the same crap we deal with for fiat, I wish it wasn't necessary to avoid being shut down.

[Swordsoffreedom]

...

Every month or so I check the couple of websites (showing BTC ATMs) as well as the Facebook page re the International Bitcoin group.

But, I am dismayed that these BTC ATMs (I saw "BTMs" written elsewhere, clever) do not appear anywhere near my city.

Maybe BTC is not catching on?  Or have they changed the rules FORCING showing ID?  (The one BTM I used in NYC required no ID).


How are BTC ATMs catching on (or not)?

It depends what sites are you using to check Bitcoin ATM growth pretty sure there are a few hundred to thousand around now see 457 at least.
http://cointelegraph.com/news/114264/bitnational-unveils-canadas-largest-atm-network-offering-btc-below-market-pri
http://www.bitnational.com/areas-of-operation.html
http://coinatmradar.com/

Just to make sure that some which might not be listed are shown.

[Amph]

i hope its spread in every country eventually
so that ppl can be more aware about bitcoin

i see it as a something that may help to rise the awareness of those people that don't surf too much and are strangers to the world of bitcoin, the old generation people fit in this conditions

[ranochigo]

Bitcoin BTM/ATMs are actually quite a hassle to manage. The operator has to buy the machine and he must constantly ensure that he has enough funds. For KYC/AML procedures, those are actually quite complicated hence operators has to comply with it and customers would not be happy to give out their personal info. The rental for the space can also be quite high depending on the traffic.

[Mickeyb]

I think these ATMs are very important. Even if they are expensive and working with loses, I think that we need them everywhere. They facilitate buying of bitcoins which is enough complicated to be honest and they are great advertiser.

In my opinion big companies should invest in these ATMs. Let's take for example Coinbase. If they have money to burn from their investments to give a referral of $75 to every new customer, which is a very big amount of money, then they should also operate some Bitcoin ATMs, even at the loss. And in every country, this country's major Bitcoin company should do the same.

[ranochigo]

I think these ATMs are very important. Even if they are expensive and working with loses, I think that we need them everywhere. They facilitate buying of bitcoins which is enough complicated to be honest and they are great advertiser.

In my opinion big companies should invest in these ATMs. Let's take for example Coinbase. If they have money to burn from their investments to give a referral of $75 to every new customer, which is a very big amount of money, then they should also operate some Bitcoin ATMs, even at the loss. And in every country, this country's major Bitcoin company should do the same.

In many places, the KYC and AML policies are quite strict and it is hard to get an authorization to operate a Bitcoin ATM. For coinbase, what they are doing basically benefits them. They require a verified account and a $100 minimum spending. Most newbies wouldn't bother to spend $100 on Bitcoin and most would just spend $10-50. Coinbase can profit by the fees and can save the referral earnings too. If they happen to buy $100, they would possibly be more interested in Bitcoin.

Companies aren't doing charity, they won't do anything that would result in a loss for them.

[b457]

In some countries (like Germany) there is also much regulation and high costs for a BTC ATM.
I would like to see more ATMs but sadly the government doesn't support this idea.

[Daniel91]

In some countries (like Germany) there is also much regulation and high costs for a BTC ATM.
I would like to see more ATMs but sadly the government doesn't support this idea.

Yes, true.
I think that banks and government will never accept bitcoin because it's decentralize and they can't control it.
If they can't control or regulate something, they will never allow officially.
We are lucky that nobody can stop Internet and we have a lot freedom online but when the moment comes to withdraw internet or bitcoin earnings to the actual bank account, then begin the real problems.
I had problem this year to file a tax return in my country because the IRS has no projected a special category of Internet earnings.
I guess we are lucky that at least we got our first Bitcoin ATM

[S4VV4S]

Nobody really wants to put a large investment into a machine that probably won't get much use. They're cool, and the concept is great but not that many people just go up to this machine and buy magic internet money.

That is a false statement.
Many people go up to machines and buy internet money (PaySafeCard) to use in gambling and what not.

If the Bitcoin ATMs are not catching up is because they are not promoted properly.

[tonycamp]

can you state the cities where that happens in my country theres like none but thats portugal

[Denker]

In some countries (like Germany) there is also much regulation and high costs for a BTC ATM.
I would like to see more ATMs but sadly the government doesn't support this idea.

Right. The few Bitcon ATMs we had had to be removed because BaFin does not accept that.The hassle is enormous.
Good old Germany.

[Kprawn]

These BTM/ATM owners must show a profit, and in the current situation most people are hesitant to invest in something so volatile. There are also not a lot of people who would be withdrawing with the price of

BTC being so low. This is not only a problem with Bitcoin... Fiat ATM's suffer from this too... the ATM's just close down in a area, when the transaction volume is too low.

Everyone wants to see a Bitcoin ATM around every corner, but the reality is, these companies offering this service needs to make money to provide this service. We cannot blame them, if they not making a profit. 

[aso118]

We don't need Bitcoin ATMs.
We need widespread adoption, so that people don't feel the need to convert bitcoin into fiat.
Once we have that people will be able to obtain bitcoins very easily.

[DiscoverCebu]

We don't need Bitcoin ATMs.
We need widespread adoption, so that people don't feel the need to convert bitcoin into fiat.
Once we have that people will be able to obtain bitcoins very easily.

Seems you dont understand what OP is trying to say here, Bitcoin ATMs are mostly used to convert fiat to bitcoin, and having them around would make it easy for people to buy bitcoins and causing adoption of it by more and more people. If you want to convert btc to fiat you can just use bitcoin debit cards dont see why you might need a bitcoin ATM for that.

[harrymmmm]

Bitcoin BTM/ATMs are actually quite a hassle to manage. The operator has to buy the machine and he must constantly ensure that he has enough funds. For KYC/AML procedures, those are actually quite complicated hence operators has to comply with it and customers would not be happy to give out their personal info. The rental for the space can also be quite high depending on the traffic.

IMO the best way forward is for more non-risk-averse companies to install these things and avoid the kyc/aml rubbish as much as possible. That probably means more, smaller companies, kinda decentralized...
Reviewers like us also need to stress the ease of use aspects, like mentioning and promoting the ones that don't have all those hoops to jump thru. We should always ask about that when they are announced and highlight those that are easy to use.