The world's first bitcoin ATM opened for business in Canada on Tuesday. Bitcoin users queued at the silver and blue ATM for the chance to exchange their virtual currencies for cash. Users may also deposit cash so they can buy more bitcoins. As much as USD 1,000 a day can be transferred to the ATM using through a user's smartphone or digital wallet.
According to the New York Daily News, the ATM was owned by three young local entrepreneurs. Mitchel Demeter and his two partners had set up a Vancouver storefront money exchange called Bitcoiniacs a year ago. He said they saw a business opportunity in a bitcoin ATM. Demeter said, "Nobody had an ATM, everyone was buying and selling on websites."
The newly-opened ATM in a coffee shop in Vancouver would be the first of five machines that the trio intended to put up in Canada.
Launched in 2008, bitcoins have a value of USD 210 each. Reputation for the Internet currency, however, was tainted last month when US authorities seized USD 3.6 million worth of bitcoins from Silk Road. The online marketplace used bitcoins to buy and sell illegal drugs, Reuters reported.
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