News

Bitcoin ATM does $100K in transactions in 1st 8 days

November 8, 2013

Two weeks ago, the first Bitcoin ATM went live in Vancouver, Canada. So far, traffic at the machine is encouraging to the ATM's maker, Robocoin.

"Woah — I've been busy! People have bought or sold over $100,000 in #Bitcoin in just 8 days," Robocoin CEO Jordan Kelley tweeted.

According to a report by Gigaom, 348 transactions were carried out on the machine during that time, and 70 percent of those who used the machine created a Bitcoin wallet, indicating that they were new Bitcoin customers.

Despite the interest in the Bitcoin ATM, Gigaom remained unconvinced that the business model would succeed:

[C]ompanies like Robocoin sell the machines to operators who install them and take three to five percent of every transaction.

Did you catch that last part? An exchange at the Bitcoin ATM will result in a fee higher than a regular ATM. Why do that when you can do the same transaction online for a one percent fee?

Recall that Bitcoin’s appeal, compared to conventional banking, lies in its convenience, cost saving and (relative) privacy. A Bitcoin ATM provides none of these things ... 

Read more about ATM innovation.