World’s first Bitcoin ATM sees 81 exchanges, $10,000 in transactions

[WikileaksDude]

during its first day...

History was made in Bitcoin world on Tuesday when the world’s first Bitcoin ATM opened in Vancouver, B.C.
At the Waves Coffee House in downtown Vancouver, 81 people made Bitcoin transactions that totaled $10,000. About one-third of those 81 were first-time Bitcoin users.
Operated by Las Vegas-based Robocoin and Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs, the ATM scans your palm and allows you to exchange cash for Bitcoin, or do the reverse. Customers can make up to $3,000 worth of Bitcoin exchanges per day.
If you aren’t familiar with Bitcoin, it’s the emerging decentralized, digital currency gaining popularity and making mainstream news headlines lately in light of the FBI shutting down Silk Road.
We recently wrote about a Seattle grilled cheese foodtruck that is now accepting Bitcoin. While there’s no question that some people and businesses love the freedom, openness and low rates of the digital option, it’s unclear at this point how or if government institutions will try to regulate the system.

Source: http://www.geekwire.com/2013/world-bitcoin-atm-sees-81-exchanges-10000-transactions/

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[420]

FUCKIN 'TASTIC!

[StarfishPrime]

With the approx. 7% buy/sell rate premium the machine should be paying for itself quickly... that's roughly $700 in fees today alone.

This should get the attention of the private ATM market, where $70 in fees is probably a good day.

[420]

With the approx. 7% buy/sell rate premium the machine should be paying for itself quickly... that's roughly $700 in fees today alone.

This should get the attention of the private ATM market, where $70 in fees is probably a good day.

just waitin' for the competition! then the fees can get lowered

so 81 people gave their biometrics huh?

[medicine]

On Bitcoin Talk the Robocoin CEO said machines run about $20,000 a piece, that's not bad in my opinion.  Might be a good investment for a bitcoin entrepreneur.  I wonder what kind of wait list they have for new machines.

If you live in a larger city it may be a cool new opportunity.  I'm in Seoul and thinking about trying to set one up.

7% on 10K is already $700 on day 1. 

Very neat to be able to trace these transactions too I might add. 

[420]

On Bitcoin Talk the Robocoin CEO said machines run about $20,000 a piece, that's not bad in my opinion.  Might be a good investment for a bitcoin entrepreneur.  I wonder what kind of wait list they have for new machines.

If you live in a larger city it may be a cool new opportunity.  I'm in Seoul and thinking about trying to set one up.

7% on 10K is already $700 on day 1. 

Very neat to be able to trace these transactions too I might add. 

transaction total should double day 2

[smiths8]

time to buy more btcs.

[lambdaE]

History was made in Bitcoin world on Tuesday when the world’s first Bitcoin ATM opened in Operated by Las Vegas-based Robocoin and Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs, the ATM scans your palm and allows you to exchange cash for Bitcoin, or do the reverse. Customers can make up to $3,000 worth of Bitcoin exchanges per day.

Pretty scary they scans your palm and store this information. Hopefully future ATMs will not do this

[prophetx]

History was made in Bitcoin world on Tuesday when the world’s first Bitcoin ATM opened in Operated by Las Vegas-based Robocoin and Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs, the ATM scans your palm and allows you to exchange cash for Bitcoin, or do the reverse. Customers can make up to $3,000 worth of Bitcoin exchanges per day.

Pretty scary they scans your palm and store this information. Hopefully future ATMs will not do this

seriously? and takes 7%?  but people are still using it?

i love the idea but anyone willing to pay 7% just defeats the whole point behind bitcoin... fees were supposed to come down not go up ... silly people

[mccorvic]

i love the idea but anyone willing to pay 7% just defeats the whole point behind bitcoin... fees were supposed to come down not go up ... silly people

Please spend a few more seconds thinking before you post, and I mean that in the nicest way.

Bitcoin transactions are low for bitcoin transactions.  This is someone providing a service of transferring physical currency to bitcoin.  The machine isn't free, the time to design and program the machine wasn't free.  The producers are allowed to recoup their capital and this is meant to be used for people who don't have the time or knowledge to get bitcoins any other way.

[leemar]

Isn't it 3% comision?

[hacknoid]

From other discussion:

The machine is charging 5% fee, right?

I'm sure you can change your foreign money in one normal exchanger or paying with your credit card for less than that 5%. So no point using bitcoin ATM (for that purpose) until they lower fees.

I read different articles in which a 3% fee is mentioned, not 5.

In the video they charge about 2% when buying bitcoins and 5% when cashing out. I don't know if it is updated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoiAewo5K7s#t=50

So I suspect this is where the 7% for buy/sell is coming from...

[leemar]

Ok but presumably you are only going one way at  a a time.  Unless you feel like burning money that is.

[420]

Ok but presumably you are only going one way at  a a time.  Unless you feel like burning money that is.

im sure a few people just tested the machine

[medicine]

I would love to see day 2 numbers 

[solex]

I would love to see day 2 numbers 

Day 2 was quite impressive:

"$30,000 on its second day (or $27,800 US/139 BTC), says Mitchell Demeter of Bitcoin broker Bitcoiniacs,"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/10/31/why-are-people-so-excited-about-a-bitcoin-atm/

[medicine]

insult me

I like your username. 
Wow on those day 2 numbers!!!

[HeliKopterBen]

One of the comments in the forbes article brought up a very good point.  Put these ATMs in or near international airports for quick and easy transfer to national currency.

[Singlebyte]

OP please format correctly.  It helps when we research the archives if the date format is included.

[420]

insult me

I like your username. 
Wow on those day 2 numbers!!!

should be telling me that

[LiteCoinGuy]

great start for the first ATM   

[oser41eric]

Day 2 was quite impressive:

"$30,000 on its second day (or $27,800 US/139 BTC), says Mitchell Demeter of Bitcoin broker Bitcoiniacs,"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/10/31/why-are-people-so-excited-about-a-bitcoin-atm/

No doubt this volume will increase with such public attention. Im sure more ATMs will be installed soon. It might be better investment than mining machines...

[leemar]

At $30,000 per day it would pay for itself in 19 days!  can it keep that up?

[blub]

so, for printing money atms are the new asics

[solex]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

[btbrae]

So are there any more planned, and where?

[blub]

in the german board someone is raising funds for a atm in Wrocław, Poland

[marcus_of_augustus]

One of the comments in the forbes article brought up a very good point.  Put these ATMs in or near international airports for quick and easy transfer to national currency.

If there was global network of these then you wouldn't need Western Union ... Mom puts her bucks into the machine in Nebraska and little Jimmy pulls out Euros in Rome ... etc. Remittances, everything becomes possible and it wouldn't have to be tht big of a network, just dispersed, say like one in each major city in the world to begin with ...

I'm really interested to know what Bitcoiniacs policy is going to be on the protection and privacy surrounding the biometric data, palm scan and photograph (face recognition?) correlated with all transactions.

[StarfishPrime]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

+1 That really puts the uphill battle that ripple faces in perspective. It's really difficult to see how they can survive when their own employees struggle even to explain what ripple is.

[applelover]

update on how much it sold the next day? is that information available for us to track the daily usage anywhere?

[nwtrades]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

Is this a joke, or can you show where you got this info?  Out of curiousity, I checked Bitcoincharts and it doesn't match up with your claim.  Check here: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleXRP_trades.html

[420]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

Is this a joke, or can you show where you got this info?  Out of curiousity, I checked Bitcoincharts and it doesn't match up with your claim.  Check here: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleXRP_trades.html

735 BTC in one day = $147,000, yup

[nwtrades]

735 BTC in one day = $147,000, yup

That's still more than 7x in one day as the $20,000 stated earlier.  Funny math going there.  Regardless, it's comparing apples and oranges.

[solex]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

Is this a joke, or can you show where you got this info?  Out of curiousity, I checked Bitcoincharts and it doesn't match up with your claim.  Check here: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleXRP_trades.html

I am comparing BTC traded on Ripple, not Ripple's internal currency as well.

http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleUSD.html

[nwtrades]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

Is this a joke, or can you show where you got this info?  Out of curiousity, I checked Bitcoincharts and it doesn't match up with your claim.  Check here: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleXRP_trades.html

I am comparing BTC traded on Ripple, not Ripple's internal currency as well.

http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleUSD.html

Fair enough.  Consider that you are drawing comparisons between a 4 year old mature technology with a beta that has been open-source for 1 month.  I would not expect to see much action until about a year or 2 into open-source, similar to Bitcoin's start around 2009-2010.

[solex]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

Is this a joke, or can you show where you got this info?  Out of curiousity, I checked Bitcoincharts and it doesn't match up with your claim.  Check here: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleXRP_trades.html

I am comparing BTC traded on Ripple, not Ripple's internal currency as well.

http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleUSD.html

Fair enough.  Consider that you are drawing comparisons between a 4 year old mature technology with a beta that has been open-source for 1 month.  I would not expect to see much action until about a year or 2 into open-source, similar to Bitcoin's start around 2009-2010.

Yep. Didn't intend it to mean the everything transacted there. Apologies about the confusion.

[hacknoid]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

Is this a joke, or can you show where you got this info?  Out of curiousity, I checked Bitcoincharts and it doesn't match up with your claim.  Check here: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleXRP_trades.html

I am comparing BTC traded on Ripple, not Ripple's internal currency as well.

http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleUSD.html

Fair enough.  Consider that you are drawing comparisons between a 4 year old mature technology with a beta that has been open-source for 1 month.  I would not expect to see much action until about a year or 2 into open-source, similar to Bitcoin's start around 2009-2010.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't he comparing a brand new interface (ATM) with a beta that has been open-source fro 1 month, in that he is comparing how many BTC were traded using each platform? 

Unless Ripple can roll out their "endpoints" fast (faster than ATMs roll out), they will lose to the ATM, which can effectively do the same thing - provide a means for people to get money into and out of the system.

[nwtrades]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

Is this a joke, or can you show where you got this info?  Out of curiousity, I checked Bitcoincharts and it doesn't match up with your claim.  Check here: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleXRP_trades.html

I am comparing BTC traded on Ripple, not Ripple's internal currency as well.

http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleUSD.html

Fair enough.  Consider that you are drawing comparisons between a 4 year old mature technology with a beta that has been open-source for 1 month.  I would not expect to see much action until about a year or 2 into open-source, similar to Bitcoin's start around 2009-2010.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't he comparing a brand new interface (ATM) with a beta that has been open-source fro 1 month, in that he is comparing how many BTC were traded using each platform? 

Unless Ripple can roll out their "endpoints" fast (faster than ATMs roll out), they will lose to the ATM, which can effectively do the same thing - provide a means for people to get money into and out of the system.

That's true, but remember Bitcoin has its own inherent weaknesses such as needing 6 confirmations to clear - up to 1 hour needed.  Ripple could just as easily be bundled into these ATMs and offer the same services.  Business owners are often technology-agnostic - whatever is convenient and makes money will be evaluated.   If all it takes is 1 more button and a separate sub-screen, I wouldn't rule it out.

[420]

The day 2 Robocoin ATM turnover in BTC was greater than the whole month of October for the Ripple system.

Is this a joke, or can you show where you got this info?  Out of curiousity, I checked Bitcoincharts and it doesn't match up with your claim.  Check here: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleXRP_trades.html

I am comparing BTC traded on Ripple, not Ripple's internal currency as well.

http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/rippleUSD.html

Fair enough.  Consider that you are drawing comparisons between a 4 year old mature technology with a beta that has been open-source for 1 month.  I would not expect to see much action until about a year or 2 into open-source, similar to Bitcoin's start around 2009-2010.

There is a difference; bitcoin opened the gates for digital currency. A stronger one with better features already has bitcoin users as (in theory) captive audience. Bitcoin started from scratch, ripple growth can feed off bitcoin's hardcore adopters looking for the best digital currency out of the plethora being released (which would be competition for ripple as well though)

[freedomno1]

Well I hope they don't make a hand-print registry that said I may use it if it comes near our city if the price spikes XD
3% or not volatility is bigger on some days XD

[StarfishPrime]

C'mon let's not rain on robocoin's parade by letting this thread denigrate into yet another ripple smackdown.

There is one very simple reason that any vc or marketing specialist will understand, why ripple can never succeed (at least in its current form):

It has no elevator pitch.

And probably can never have one due to its inherent complexity.

[bitcoinanon]

This is pretty cool. I do not think the palm scanner is necessary. Silly Canadian financial regulations..

[EccLipSe]

who cares? who needs?

[StarfishPrime]

who cares? who needs?

Apparently someone does - with almost $40,000 transacted in two days!

[notme]

One of the comments in the forbes article brought up a very good point.  Put these ATMs in or near international airports for quick and easy transfer to national currency.

This x21000000

[notme]

C'mon let's not rain on robocoin's parade by letting this thread denigrate into yet another ripple smackdown.

There is one very simple reason that any vc or marketing specialist will understand, why ripple can never succeed (at least in its current form):

It has no elevator pitch.

And probably can never have one due to its inherent complexity.

Elevator pitches aren't for explaining the details.  They are for grabbing someone's attention if you happen to get lucky and be in an elevator with them for 10 seconds.

Bitcion can allow you to beat WU on fees and speed for international money transmission.

Bitcoin can not be seized to bail out bankers who made bad decisions.

etc.

If your hook grabs them, let them lead with their questions.

[jawnzer]

Well, living in Calgary, I am interested to see where they're going to be placing it in the city. I haven't been able to find any information regarding this, but last time I checked was about a week ago.

Would be a great investment for sure.

This is pretty cool. I do not think the palm scanner is necessary. Silly Canadian financial regulations..

IIRC they weren't required to, but they did it for security down the line.

[solex]

Well, living in Calgary, I am interested to see where they're going to be placing it in the city. I haven't been able to find any information regarding this, but last time I checked was about a week ago.

Would be a great investment for sure.

This is pretty cool. I do not think the palm scanner is necessary. Silly Canadian financial regulations..

IIRC they weren't required to, but they did it for security down the line.

The palm scans are not stored with any personal info, they are just checked in the machine to ensure that the same person does not exchange more than $3000 per day.

[jawnzer]

Well, living in Calgary, I am interested to see where they're going to be placing it in the city. I haven't been able to find any information regarding this, but last time I checked was about a week ago.

Would be a great investment for sure.

This is pretty cool. I do not think the palm scanner is necessary. Silly Canadian financial regulations..

IIRC they weren't required to, but they did it for security down the line.

The palm scans are not stored with any personal info, they are just checked in the machine to ensure that the same person does not exchange more than $3000 per day.

Ahh yes, forgot that part. Thank you.

[Korporal]

Street cash from Welly Wednesday on the DTES safely tucked away. lol
They can't use banks.

Locals would know what I'm sayin

[StarfishPrime]

C'mon let's not rain on robocoin's parade by letting this thread denigrate into yet another ripple smackdown.

There is one very simple reason that any vc or marketing specialist will understand, why ripple can never succeed (at least in its current form):

It has no elevator pitch.

And probably can never have one due to its inherent complexity.

Elevator pitches aren't for explaining the details.  They are for grabbing someone's attention if you happen to get lucky and be in an elevator with them for 10 seconds.

...

Yup. That's exactly why ripple can never succeed in its current form. No ripple employee (or fanboy) to date has been able to succinctly explain what it is.

programmers != vcs

[freedomno1]

Well, living in Calgary, I am interested to see where they're going to be placing it in the city. I haven't been able to find any information regarding this, but last time I checked was about a week ago.

Would be a great investment for sure.

This is pretty cool. I do not think the palm scanner is necessary. Silly Canadian financial regulations..

IIRC they weren't required to, but they did it for security down the line.

Will be interested to see where they put it in Calgary, haven't had a Calgary Bitcoins meetup in a while

[solex]

Are there any publicly available stats on how much turnover the Vancouver ATM is doing...?

[freedomno1]

Are there any publicly available stats on how much turnover the Vancouver ATM is doing...?

Not that I know of the best you can do is infer from the amount of bitcoins traded on cavirtex and determine that the amount is less than that total lol

[420]

Well I hope they don't make a hand-print registry that said I may use it if it comes near our city if the price spikes XD
3% or not volatility is bigger on some days XD

Well, living in Calgary, I am interested to see where they're going to be placing it in the city. I haven't been able to find any information regarding this, but last time I checked was about a week ago.

Would be a great investment for sure.

This is pretty cool. I do not think the palm scanner is necessary. Silly Canadian financial regulations..

IIRC they weren't required to, but they did it for security down the line.

The palm scans are not stored with any personal info, they are just checked in the machine to ensure that the same person does not exchange more than $3000 per day.

it would be nice if we could see the code and that if it flushes the biometric memory every 24hrs or when the entry is 24hrs old

[exstasie]

Well, living in Calgary, I am interested to see where they're going to be placing it in the city. I haven't been able to find any information regarding this, but last time I checked was about a week ago.

Would be a great investment for sure.

This is pretty cool. I do not think the palm scanner is necessary. Silly Canadian financial regulations..

IIRC they weren't required to, but they did it for security down the line.

The palm scans are not stored with any personal info, they are just checked in the machine to ensure that the same person does not exchange more than $3000 per day.

And what's the point of no allowing more than $3000 a day?  Is it to ensure that someone insn't taking advantage somehow?  I know in Canada, Bitcoins do not quality under the Money Laundering Act & Terrorist Financing so there isn't really a need to limit the amount of money transferred as it does not have to be reported to FINTRAC (Canada's regulated entity to deal with the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act).

They could do like other companies in Canada and use Cellphone numbers to regulate instead.  Other companies require you to enter a legit cellphone number from a Canadian carrier only (No burners allowed) and will only allow certain number of transactions.  Yes, if you have multiple numbers you can do the limit many times, but if you really wanted to you could pay randoms $5 (or $5 in drugs - lots of homeless in Vancouver) to use their hands to do more transactions.

I'm not a big fan of any biometrics related stuff.

[marcus_of_augustus]

I saw the screenshots for the administrator s/ware tool for the ATM had a digital photo of the user next to the palm scan so it is a little more complicated than you might think .... it would be good for them to come out and say what their policies are for minining that personal (financial) data and/or regular destruction ... since they only need it for 24 hours is the claim.