17 June 2014 / Times Colonists – It may be a virtual currency, but bitcoin now has a very tangible presence in Victoria with the Island’s first bitcoin ATM installed at Hemp & Co. on Government Street.
The bitcoin machine, which was installed over the weekend, is only the fifth such ATM in B.C. — and one of only 18 others in Canada according to bitcoinatmmap.com, which monitors the machines around the world.
“The trick has always been how do you get bitcoin,” said Scott Sheldrake of Bitbrokers, a new Victoria company that installs the machines.
“It used to be you could mine it [done through a complicated, slow and expensive computer processing system], but those days are long gone, or you could agree to meet up with someone who had bitcoin to make an exchange, but now there’s this.”
The machine is a slightly larger version of a regular ATM.
It is hooked up to the Cointrader online exchange in Vancouver and when customers sign in they can either buy or sell bitcoin.
If you’re buying bitcoin — the ATM will allow you to up to $3,000 worth per day — you insert money and the machine will direct the bitcoin to whatever wallet you choose, such as a virtual wallet on a smartphone or a bitcoin account online, Sheldrake said.
To sell bitcoin from a virtual wallet, a customer sends bitcoin to the address of the ATM and a claim ticket will be printed. After confirmation, which can take about 20 minutes, the claim ticket can be redeemed for cash dispensed from the ATM….. Read more
http://www.timescolonist.com/business/first-island-bitcoin-atm-opens-in-downtown-victoria-1.1132456
It may be a virtual currency, but bitcoin now has a very tangible presence in Victoria with the Island’s first bitcoin ATM installed at Hemp & Co. on Government Street.
The bitcoin machine, which was installed over the weekend, is only the fifth such ATM in B.C. — and one of only 18 others in Canada according to bitcoinatmmap.com, which monitors the machines around the world.
“The trick has always been how do you get bitcoin,” said Scott Sheldrake of Bitbrokers, a new Victoria company that installs the machines.
“It used to be you could mine it [done through a complicated, slow and expensive computer processing system], but those days are long gone, or you could agree to meet up with someone who had bitcoin to make an exchange, but now there’s this.”
The machine is a slightly larger version of a regular ATM.
It is hooked up to the Cointrader online exchange in Vancouver and when customers sign in they can either buy or sell bitcoin.
If you’re buying bitcoin — the ATM will allow you to up to $3,000 worth per day — you insert money and the machine will direct the bitcoin to whatever wallet you choose, such as a virtual wallet on a smartphone or a bitcoin account online, Sheldrake said.
To sell bitcoin from a virtual wallet, a customer sends bitcoin to the address of the ATM and a claim ticket will be printed. After confirmation, which can take about 20 minutes, the claim ticket can be redeemed for cash dispensed from the ATM.
Sheldrake said he and his partners Ryan Price and Ming Leung use machines manufactured by Robocoin, which made the world’s first bitcoin ATM that was introduced in Vancouver in October last year.
“We went with them because that machine allows two-way transactions to buy and sell,” he said. “We thought it was important for people to see the full circle and so at any time if people are worried about [the virtual currency], they can sell it.”
While bitcoin is becoming better known and used — there are now five companies in Victoria accepting bitcoin for payment in person, though many more accept it online — it is still a fringe player. Its volatility and the collapse of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange has left many reluctant to try the currency. Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after it reported it lost 650,000 bitcoins worth nearly $400 million.
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