Katrina Caudle celebrates after using the world's first bitcoin ATM at Waves Coffee House on October 29, 2013 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Bitcoins took yet another step toward mainstream use on Tuesday, as the world’s first ATM converting the virtual currency to conventional cash, and vice versa, was introduced at a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada.
The machine will be operated by the bitcoin exchange companies Bitcoiniacs and Robocoin, and will perform transactions after a palm and ID scan, CBC reports. Four more ATMs are planned for the country in the near future.
Bitcoin, which made headlines as a method to buy illegal products on “deep web” portals such as the recently-raided Silk Road, is also gaining prominence among high street stores in Western Canada. Bitcoiniacs reported that it was selling the currency, valued at $12 in January, for around $200 today.
[CBC]
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