Bitcoin ATM - Jeff Berwick (Dollar Vigilante) official withdrawal

[bitcon]

Bad news...

look on the bright side, the guy is opening his own exchange.

[w1R903]

Actually a friend of mine is in San Diego and I had him test out the ATM. It's flawed, it lets you turn your bitcoin wallet into cash, so he entered a wallet of mine and 5 minutes later I had no bitcoins.

Flavius, if you gave him your wallet, you gave him your money.  There's no flaw there presuming it gave him money in exchange for your wallet (although it may have other flaws, we'll see...).

[flavius]

No I don't think you understand. All you need is the wallet address, the receiving address. Getting that is as simple as asking someone if you can send them free bitcoins.

My friend has already emptied out the ATM......

[blackreplica]

Something isn't quite right about what you're saying.

How did yoru friend withdraw BTC from your bitcoin wallet (to give the ATM in return for cash) if all he had was your public address?

The only way he could have sent the BTC is if he had full access to your wallet.

[dave111223]

No I don't think you understand. All you need is the wallet address, the receiving address. Getting that is as simple as asking someone if you can send them free bitcoins.

My friend has already emptied out the ATM......

Nice try...I think you'll need to up your troll game though if you want to get any bites.


I really can't see much coming out of this specific bitcoin ATM project, it seems to be a classic bitcoin formula:

Step 1) Come up with a useful Bitcoin idea (or buy an idea)

Step 2) Photoshop up some pictures of what your product might look like

Step 3) Claim you pretty much already have it "done" and hype the crap out of it to any media outlet that will listen (make sure you get your face on TV as much as possible)

Step 4) Set extremely ambitious/unrealistic schedule of completion/shipping/unveiling etc..

Step 5) Pimp yourself out to any VC/investors that will listen (take all their money)

Step 6) Realize that you actually have no product, have no idea how the fuck to make the product, and basically no clue how to run a business

Step 7) Choose between options:
a) Try to drag out the situation as long as possible and milk your investors and customers until they are dry

b) Make up some excuses of why your product was thwarted by the evil Fed, SWAT team etc...

c) Go quiet/disappear...never heard of again

d) Distract everyone was a new even more ambitious project and rise/repeat the whole cycle.

On a side note I wonder who owns the bitcoinatm.com domain/site, as Jeff's face seems to be plastered all over it; I wonder if he owns it and will now be looking to flog it cheap? Would be a nice domain to have.

[BubbleBoy]

Step 6) Realize that you actually have no product, have no idea how the fuck to make the product, and basically no clue how to run a business

Except this "product" is something that can be hacked in two days by a  bunch of students with the right tools and hardware. BitcoinATM was never about the device itself, it was always about the business model and the regulatory aspects.

[dave111223]

I mean seriously when less than 1 month after buying this:


It magically looks like this:


And they were just about ready to install one in Cyprus!

I mean LOL, just LOL

I'm sorry if you are capable of turning Pic 1 into Pic 2 in a month, you have no need to buy Pic 1 in the first place.

[Zaih]

Wow, I'm so disheartened to see this.

Bloody government...

[elux]

Wow, I'm so disheartened to see this.

Bloody government...

http://www.businessinsider.com/bogus-cyprus-atm-story-2013-3

[ShireSilver]

I mean seriously when less than 1 month after buying this:


It magically looks like this:


And they were just about ready to install one in Cyprus!

I mean LOL, just LOL

I'm sorry if you are capable of turning Pic 1 into Pic 2 in a month, you have no need to buy Pic 1 in the first place.

Those are two completely different projects, run by completely different groups of people.

The first one is more like a vending machine, and at least in New Hampshire where they are located, it is regulated like one. I used the Lamassu prototype machine myself, and have talked to the guys on many occasions and they seem to have a decent plan. Their prototype is definitely not what they will be building for production use - they are really upping the quality and security.

The second one is a more traditional ATM, and IMHO was only really viable with someone like Jeff Berwick backing it, who has the skills and experience to run a "real" business and deal with big banks and regulators. I know Jeff despises the regulators, but would know how to work with them while holding his nose in order to make it work.

[Shinobi]

He supposedly had a "top" financial advisor of this caliber, yet signed on to a project without recognition of the complex rules surrounding money transmission? He sounds about as mature and grounded in reality as the 23-year olds he sought to do business with.

Hilarious stuff.

I then went to San Diego last week to nail down the final specifics with the two young entrepreneurs and flew in my top financial advisor, a past CFO of numerous billion dollar companies who has done business for decades worldwide, and what we uncovered was that this was not going to be as simple as we had hoped.

[samson]

I think a bitcoin vending machine would take less heat from the governments of the world than an ATM which issues fiat currency for BTC.

The vending machines would be a good way for people (vending machine operators) to sell BTC at a markup and once people have their BTC they can trade it, make purchases, etc as normal.

[dave111223]

Those are two completely different projects, run by completely different groups of people.

The first one is more like a vending machine, and at least in New Hampshire where they are located, it is regulated like one. I used the Lamassu prototype machine myself, and have talked to the guys on many occasions and they seem to have a decent plan. Their prototype is definitely not what they will be building for production use - they are really upping the quality and security.

The second one is a more traditional ATM, and IMHO was only really viable with someone like Jeff Berwick backing it, who has the skills and experience to run a "real" business and deal with big banks and regulators. I know Jeff despises the regulators, but would know how to work with them while holding his nose in order to make it work.

It appears you are correct, and the two are unrelated...although a lot of articles at the time made it appear that Jeff Berwick had purchased the Lamassu system, article such as this, I may even go so far as to say some of Jeff's statements were intentionally mislead (continually calling it the "first 'Bitcoin ATM'" despite a ton of news stories just the month before about the actual first bitcoin atm):

It was only at the end of February 2013, that two entrepreneurs announced and presented the first Bitcoin ATM [...]

Only half a month later (during March 2013) it was all over the news that Cyprus’ banking system was under turmoil and that Cypriots were about to face major cash constraints. That’s when Jeff Berwick, founder of StockHouse.com and CEO of TDV Media, announced his intention to support Bitcoin ATM and launch the first machine in Cyprus

http://popupcity.net/2013/04/first-bitcoin-atm-to-be-launched-in-cyprus/

But it appears that Lamassu have since clarified that have nothing to do with Jeff Berwick:

Update: Zach Harvey, the founder of Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures, isn’t sure why Berwick referred to his product as the world’s first operational Bitcoin ATM.

http://monopolypost.com/2013/03/27/worlds-first-bitcoin-atm-to-premiere-in-cyprus/

I hold out a lot more hope for the Lamassu project as at least they have a working, all be it not very practical, model (which they didn't release until it was actually functional.  Berwick appears to have have nothing other than some photoshopped photos. I'm almost relieved to hear that Lamassu are still working on it and haven't sold out their ideas.

But again I could be proved terribly wrong if the unveil a full functional 2 way ATM today; as they have promised.

[therealodog]

anyone know if there will be live coverage of this event?

[ronaldlee0917]

Lol, is that a claptrap in the first pic?
I lol so hard

[ShireSilver]

Those are two completely different projects, run by completely different groups of people.

It appears you are correct, and the two are unrelated...although a lot of articles at the time made it appear that Jeff Berwick had purchased the Lamassu system, article such as this, I may even go so far as to say some of Jeff's statements were intentionally mislead (continually calling it the "first 'Bitcoin ATM'" despite a ton of news stories just the month before about the actual first bitcoin atm):

My understanding is that Berwick was promoting the first ATM which was at least started a few years ago. It never went anywhere because the originator didn't have the experience/knowledge needed. That original was sold to the current owners, who got Berwick on board. So it might be considered the first one, while the Lamassu machine (if you consider it an ATM) is really the second but will probably be the first to get into production. There's a lot of history and discussion of all this hidden away in many threads on this forum.

[Wuji]

Go back and read my posts after posts on how this was speculation and had so many hurdles.  Read where you called me (up 1600%) an idiot.  This guy got rich by pushing the price up (hello Mr Manipulator  ) and is probably selling off huge or sold back over $200 like I did.  Use your brain not your heart.  Buy low, sell high.  FFS.

All of you who lost money on this bullshit were robbed by this man.  Get your pitchforks and sharpen them.

[Cluster2k]

Well I don't quite see it like that.

Put money in machine, acquire bitcoins.

Put money in machine, acquire gums/toys/cards/whatever.

Somehow one is different? Is it the ability to sell back to the machine that's the problem for US laws?

IT is the fact that bitcoin is behind the ATM. Not gum or candy.

The powers that be dont want their monopoly on money to end.

This idea of an ATM basically succumbs their control over capital controls and money/value leaving the US borders.

A gum or candy machine can't be used for money laundering, or sending the proceeds of crime to your buddies in another country.  If the Bitcoin ATM eats someone's cash without paying up there needs to be someone to chase with enough funds.  That's where the bond comes in.

Not everything is a conspiracy.  Many things are just plain common sense.

[BitcoinAshley]

Flavius needs to lrn2publickeycryptography. It is mathematically impossible (with current computing systems) to generate the private key from the public key and therefore drain the wallet via the receiving address.

If the machine did that, it is not "flawed," it is "an advanced supercomputer far beyond the likes of which we have ever seen on Planet Earth and should be worshipped by everyone."

[bitcon]

Go back and read my posts after posts on how this was speculation and had so many hurdles.  Read where you called me (up 1600%) an idiot.  This guy got rich by pushing the price up (hello Mr Manipulator  ) and is probably selling off huge or sold back over $200 like I did.  Use your brain not your heart.  Buy low, sell high.  FFS.

All of you who lost money on this bullshit were robbed by this man.  Get your pitchforks and sharpen them.

false witness much?  i'll take facts over your conspiracy theory. i'd like to know just how many people invested just because of this "diabolical manipulator". Lulz