First Bitcoin ATM in Venezuela

[DdmrDdmr]

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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.

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

[stompix]

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). 

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

[brightemo]

This cant help them with economy in general

[Btcvilla]

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.

[JonMak0987Bitch]

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.

[bitcon]

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.

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.

[lab rat hoax]

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.

[marcbitcoins]

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.

[Sithara007]

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.

[blckhawk]

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.

[timerland]

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/

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.

[Vishnu.Reang]

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.

[Murat]

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.

[Sithara007]

I agree with your opinion I think bitcoin cannot renew the economy in Venezuela, but maybe the goal is to store value and investment or use it as a transaction.

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.

[Moiyah]

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.

[DdmrDdmr]

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.

[Markettrust]

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

[Markettrust]

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

[Sithara007]

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.

[agentx44]

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

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

CryptoBuyer, a cryptocurrency ATM manufacturer, is planning to install the countries first Bitcoin ATM. The news was announced by the company’s CEO Jorge Farias on a Union Radio podcast. The ATM will be installed in Caracas and will be opened in the next two weeks.

“We are going to install the first cryptocurrency ATM in Venezuela, in the course of the next two weeks (…), we already have the equipment physically installed in Venezuela, in Caracas and they are in their final tests and we will be announcing them in social networks “, Jorge Farias said.

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.