18 Mar 2014 / Investopedia – It’s on the cutting edge of the already-cutting-edge world of Bitcoin entrepreneurship: the first Bitcoin ATMs in the U.S. Kyle Powers and Chris Yim, co-founders of the startup Liberty Teller, launched the first of what they anticipate will be many such machines, in Boston’s South Station in February 2014. Their second ATM’s ribbon cutting was on March 17, 2014, at the Clover eatery in Harvard Square. The ambitious duo first met as students at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; the company name and cracked-bell logo are a nod to the partners’ Philadelphia ties.
How does the Liberty Teller ATM work? Customers can create a “Bitcoin wallet” – a virtual wallet for carrying Bitcoin – to use the ATM. They can also use a “‘paper wallet,” which is a hard copy version of the information needed to execute a transaction. Either type of wallet will have a QR code. You scan the code into the ATM, insert cash, and within 30 seconds, your Bitcoin gets deposited directly into your digital wallet. Enjoy the magic. Don’t wait for Bitcoin to come rollling out of the slot; that’s not how it works.
Investopedia interviewed Powers about this daring venture.
Q: Tell us a bit about how this Bitcoin ATM came about. What is Liberty Teller’s origin story?
In mid-2013, Chris [Yim] texted me that he was going to a secluded area of Philadelphia to sell Bitcoin for cash to a stranger. I texted him back, “It’s a trap!” Then I thought about it for a bit and how exciting it’d be, so I offered to be his “muscle.” The other Bitcoiner turned out to be a really kind person, but the transaction was way more slow, awkward, expensive, and potentially dangerous than it needed to be. Fast forward to today and we’re are offering a safe, simple, instant, and cheap way to get Bitcoin through Liberty Teller….. Read more
