The UK’s first Bitcoin ATM launched in a café in Shoreditch last week and its developers have said it won’t be the last.
The digital currency Bitcoin can now be bought with hard currency at the Old Shoreditch Station café and use it to make purchases.
Hundreds of businesses across the country already accept the new currency but customers have had to purchase the ‘coins’ online and purchase goods using an App that can be downloaded on to smart phones.
The ATM works in a similar way to an Oyster Card machine, whereby you hold up your ‘Bitcoin wallet’ on your smartphone, insert your money and then hold your device against the reader to receive your funds.
More than 500 bitcoin ATMs in 2014?
Nice Letchford, owner of the Old Station Café, said: “It’s really for people who are interested in the currency itself. Everything costs the same whether in pounds or Bitcoin, but the system is much more secure.”
Lamassu, the company behind the ATMs, has already sold 215 of the devices with three being sold to Britain. CEO Zach Harvey said: “At our current rate of sales, I would expect to see 500-700 operational locations by the end of the year.”
There are several businesses in Hackney allowing Bitcoin, including the Pembury Tavern, which became the first pub in the country to accept the currency.
On a global scale Bitcoin has been notoriously volatile, with one Bitcoin fluctuating from as low as 30 cents to 30 dollars. Last week Bitcoin also suffered a blow after MtGox, one of the largest trading exchanges said there was a flaw in the virtual currency’s underlying software.
Thieves were able to fool the transaction system so that double the number of Bitcoins were sent. However, ‘Bitcoin wallets’ were not affected.
“More secure than credit cards”
But Mr Letchford is not overly worried by Bitcoin’s fluctuations: “I’m a firm believer in independent currencies and even if Bitcoin is not the currency going forward at least we’ll be encouraging whatever takes it’s place.”
Mr Harvey said: “Bitcoin is significantly more secure to use than credit cards, and has much lower transaction costs. More secure also means a lot more convenient, since you don’t have to be bothered by all of the security measures credit card companies take to try and prevent fraud.
Bitcoin is also the best method to transfer funds. No bank fees, it’s immediate and there are no weekends, unlike banks. No fuss with IBAN, SWIFT or bank customer support.”
