Here is a Fintech first,although perhaps we knew it was coming. For the first time, a Bitcoin ATM will be demonstrated outside of the United States. Lamassu’s Bitcoin Machine has been reprogrammed to accept pounds sterling (GBP) and will be presented at the invite-only BTC London conference. The machine is compatible with leading exchanges, such as Mt.Gox and Bitstamp. The event will take place on July 2nd at Level 39, Europe’s largest accelerator space for finance, retail and future cities technology companies.
“The Bitcoin Machine was always meant as a global solution, and we’re thrilled to be able to demonstrate our machine in London, converting pounds sterling to Bitcoin,” said Lamassu co-founder Zach Harvey. “Talking about the economic and technological advantages of Bitcoin is a lot to wrap your head around, but experiencing the power of Bitcoin via our machine only takes six seconds. Even without prior knowledge of Bitcoins, the alternative online currency, it’s a wow factor.”
The Bitcoin Machine received media attention from CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Network World and others, after being presented at the Bitcoin Foundation’s Bitcoin 2013 conference in San Jose this past May.
Amidst talk about digital currency being used for money laundering, Harvey expressed that Bitcoin is “horrible for money laundering.” According to the Lamassu co-founder, it is speculated that due to the digital currency’s lack of anonymity, Bitcoin’s secretive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has never spent any of his millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin.
Since the Bitcoin Conference, Lamassu has been contacted by more than 60 potential distributors in over 30 countries, including China, Canada, Libya, Cyprus, Kenya, Israel, the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and Switzerland.
As banks in countries such as Canada and Israel make purchasing bitcoins from online exchanges more difficult, the Bitcoin Machine could serve as a worthy alternative. Online exchanges are bound to the world’s banking system as they require customers to hold bank accounts for buying and selling Bitcoin. By accepting cash in all currencies, Lamassu’s Bitcoin Machine is able to bypass any banking system. In addition, the Bitcoin Machines would be owned by the operators, making the network more decentralised in comparison to the online exchanges.
Lamassu expects to begin full production of the Bitcoin Machines this fall.
Hayden Richards is Contributor of IntelligentHQ. He specialises in finance, trading, investment, and technology, with expertise in both buy-side, sell-side. Contributing and advising various global corporations, Hayden is a thought leader, researching on global regulatory subjects, digital, social media strategies and new trends for Businesses, Capital Markets and Financial Services.
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