BTC ATMs

[Pantum]

There's a venezuelan company that intend to install BTC ATMs at my country. I'm just wondering, are those really safe to use? Do they respect privacy and decentralized ideals of BTC?

I would like opinion and knowledge of people who have used them

[squatz1]

Well it does matter on the laws of your country, as that kinda dictates what kind of privacy laws they're adhered to follow and do follow. I know here in the US the laws matter on state to state, so in  most states you don't have to get the name of who you're going to be selling these Bitcoins to up to a certain amount of money being converted to BTC.

But just so you know, these ATMS charge a very high fee on the conversion so I'd seek out other methods of buying BTC if I were you.

[Pantum]

I see.
I don't think there's much legislation here about cryptocurrencies yet. The only serious statement that Central Bank has made was a few days ago, and was sort of a warning for people who want to invest on bitcoin, and the volatility that it may imply (which is totally true). I think they will probably make that kind of laws either on the go, or after the ATMs are introduced to the public

Thanks for the advise though! I had no idea they charge a high fee for transaction!

[leex1528]

How do they actually work?  So you put in your credentials for you wallet and it spits cash out in your currency you want or what?

This seems like an extremely unsafe thing to do, considering I don't even trust most ATM's that only have 1 currency, I don't feel like giving my private key to an ATM in order to get cash out..

[truthstalker]

It's hard to know whether the company itself is trustworthy but to get the licenses to station these at public places would require going through lawyers and permits. If they did run away with the money then they would be breaking the law.

The atm which is installed are going to be as secure as the ones you see dealing in cash

[Kmdr]

This seems like an extremely unsafe thing to do, considering I don't even trust most ATM's that only have 1 currency, I don't feel like giving my private key to an ATM in order to get cash out..

Very good point. Also consider the type of devices fitted to standard ATM's in order to steal banking details, everything from "Lebanese loops" to full fake fronts.

Possibly a work-around would be to use a separate bitcoin address that only has a specific amount in it.

[mahimonliner]

Why should you hv to worry about this?? Its very much a great to have a bitcoin atm machine near.

[bajing]

There's a venezuelan company that intend to install BTC ATMs at my country. I'm just wondering, are those really safe to use? Do they respect privacy and decentralized ideals of BTC?

I would like opinion and knowledge of people who have used them

It's safe, you do not have to worry about it because you just need to scan the barcode to be able to withdraw money through BTC ATM. it's just that they will charge an additional fee and also the rates they provide are much lower than exchangers. I recommend to use the exchanger than BTC ATM unless you are in a state of urgency.

[AtheistAKASaneBrain]

There's a venezuelan company that intend to install BTC ATMs at my country. I'm just wondering, are those really safe to use? Do they respect privacy and decentralized ideals of BTC?

I would like opinion and knowledge of people who have used them

It's impossible to expect any kind of privacy from Bitcoin ATM's to be honest. Consider that Bitcoin ATM's are gateways to the banking system, so if you expect that your transition from BTC to fiat currency isn't going to be registered along with your ID scan (which probably will be needed to withdraw) you must be delusional. You will be on a list of people that own BTC from now on.

The only anonymous way to convert from BTC to fiat is meeting OTC with a buyer in person cash in hand. You give them BTC with Mycelium or whatever, they give you hard cash, period. Any other ways and you should expect to pay taxes.

[Aleister Crowley]

this is very good, it shows that the use of bitcoin in your country is very wide ,, do not worry this is made sure to be safe, this will be reflected to be very practical ,, you do not have to bother to exchange your money through exchange to get bitcoin or even vice versa, the sophistication of the digital world is able to guide your country in the top row of bitcoin user countries..

[Pantum]

There's a venezuelan company that intend to install BTC ATMs at my country. I'm just wondering, are those really safe to use? Do they respect privacy and decentralized ideals of BTC?

I would like opinion and knowledge of people who have used them

It's impossible to expect any kind of privacy from Bitcoin ATM's to be honest. Consider that Bitcoin ATM's are gateways to the banking system, so if you expect that your transition from BTC to fiat currency isn't going to be registered along with your ID scan (which probably will be needed to withdraw) you must be delusional. You will be on a list of people that own BTC from now on.

The only anonymous way to convert from BTC to fiat is meeting OTC with a buyer in person cash in hand. You give them BTC with Mycelium or whatever, they give you hard cash, period. Any other ways and you should expect to pay taxes.

This is actually what I thought! If I get to buy BTC they will relate my banking info to that key and from there track everything. I really am very hesitant to use this ATMs at any point

[RyanEncek]

bitcoin as a substitute for atm when it needs funds, it can be invested through markets like bittrex, mercatox, hitsbtc, etherdelta, and so forth !!

[spngebob]

How do they actually work?  So you put in your credentials for you wallet and it spits cash out in your currency you want or what?

This seems like an extremely unsafe thing to do, considering I don't even trust most ATM's that only have 1 currency, I don't feel like giving my private key to an ATM in order to get cash out..

You don't give private key to ATM or anyone.
It is very simple, you chose how much money you want to withdraw from ATM, then you send bitcoins to address showed in ATM and ATM gives you the money. There are lots of youtube videos showing how to do that.

It's impossible to expect any kind of privacy from Bitcoin ATM's to be honest. Consider that Bitcoin ATM's are gateways to the banking system, so if you expect that your transition from BTC to fiat currency isn't going to be registered along with your ID scan (which probably will be needed to withdraw) you must be delusional. You will be on a list of people that own BTC from now on.

Have you ever withdraw money from bitcoin ATM or you are assuming?
There are bitcoin ATM's where ID scan is not required and you can withdraw money without any fear that you will give your private information to anyone.

The only anonymous way to convert from BTC to fiat is meeting OTC with a buyer in person cash in hand. You give them BTC with Mycelium or whatever, they give you hard cash, period. Any other ways and you should expect to pay taxes.

How is that anonymous?

[Pantum]

there btc atm too at my country, thats absolutly safe, and have standart fee. you just need to scan barcode send bitcoin and voila youll receive your money instantly according to price that time

Are you actually able to withdraw cash from those? I think the ones they are placing here are for buying BTC only

[BeerPanda]

There's a venezuelan company that intend to install BTC ATMs at my country. I'm just wondering, are those really safe to use? Do they respect privacy and decentralized ideals of BTC?

I would like opinion and knowledge of people who have used them

I don't know if it's safe but anyway i think it's good idea.

[figmentofmyass]

There's a venezuelan company that intend to install BTC ATMs at my country. I'm just wondering, are those really safe to use? Do they respect privacy and decentralized ideals of BTC?

I would like opinion and knowledge of people who have used them

there are safe ways to use them. i would only use ATMs where ID scan is not required -- cash only. ATM/gas pump skimmers are becoming very sophisticated these days, so i definitely wouldn't risk anything where you need to swipe. and even with cash only / no ID, i would probably try to shield my face/hair for additional privacy.

i've used bitcoin ATMs before, but really just for the novelty. the fees are simply too high to make it worth it, unless you have no other way to convert cash into BTC.

[shinratensei_]

There's a venezuelan company that intend to install BTC ATMs at my country. I'm just wondering, are those really safe to use? Do they respect privacy and decentralized ideals of BTC?

I would like opinion and knowledge of people who have used them

I've used the bitcoin debit card and it seems very easy to use it through atm even usual atm that already supported the visa. About the privacy because some company gives a mandatory to the users to filling the form of the KYC/AML. I think to use the bitcoin ATM still keep your privacy because that was working based on the algorithm such as bitcoin wallet.
So, it's not possible to know who is you and where are you from.
This is just my 2 cents.

[Cherylstar86]

How do they actually work?  So you put in your credentials for you wallet and it spits cash out in your currency you want or what?

This seems like an extremely unsafe thing to do, considering I don't even trust most ATM's that only have 1 currency, I don't feel like giving my private key to an ATM in order to get cash out..

I wonder is there really a private key to give if there's an ATM?How true is this?Could you give a specific example on this because I also use other ATM but I'm not sure if there is private key. I know is that there is account number. Regarding with bitcoin ATMs, I don't see any problem with it but I think it will be more friendly user if there is passbook too. With this,bitcoin will be more safe and updated unlike without a passbook at all. You can monitor your expenses and you can't overspend that how I practice myself to be disciplined.

[bennybeezy]

I didn't know what to expect when I tried using one of these ATMs for the first time. I needed to provide my ID, though, which I wasn't completely comfortable with, and then scan a barcode from my phone. Luckily I have 2 phones, one of them an HTC 10 that has a 5.2" screen because my OnePlus 3T wouldn't have fit in the scanning window with it's 5.5" screen (I guess these are older ATMs that didn't account for phablet-sized devices). Anyhow, by the time I completed all the necessary verification requirements, I realized that they absolutely RAPE you in fees. I was looking to buy $200USD worth of BTC at $3660 (on exchanges) and they were charging in excess of $4200!!! I was like "oh hell no!!". Unless you're very very desperate and can afford to pay those absurdly exorbitant fees (i.e. highway robbery), I would definitely recommend seeking alternative methods of deposit.  

[winbig777]

There were ways around the controls of the ATMs I've seen. For example, you could get $1000 USD cash out of the ATM, with only a phone number. This can done easily by simply asking a bystander what their number is and then asking them to tell you the code they just got texted. Several people did this for me in a casino, in exchange for me offering them some little token amount of cash