Topic: First Bitcoin ATM in Venezuela - page 3. (Read 982 times)

Poverty is good for bitcoin!


Yes comrade, too bad it's 2019 and nations don't pay their workers anymore, except for the government employees.


Indeed comrade, we should take the money from the evil rich countries and give it to the poor so they could spend it and become poor once again. For the glory of the working man and the soviets!!


The expression "even he/she/x" is losing its meaning when you add Maduro to it, his stupidity is just as the universe, infinite.
And secondary, yes, he has the power to impose a ban, he might not have the police but he has the army and he has his bands of mercenaries, and furthermore in the situation the country is nobody gives a damn about human rights so after 1 hour of interrogation thee you'll remember you are Satoshi's brother. And the poorer people are, the cheaper and more efficient snitching becomes.

We need to implement it everywhere in the world where there is an economical gap between the first world countries and third world countries.

When the big nations make almost all the money and the small nations are left with crumbs, the best case of scenario small nations could do is moving their workers towards bitcoin payments globally, paying something 100 euroes in europe is not a huge amount, it is definitely doesn't mean free but it is not huge, people pay more than that on a good meal outside (like really good) but 100 euroes could be a whole months salary for someone in third world country, they have to take advantage of bitcoin and it is beauty in those countries to make up that difference and take the money from first world countries to live and best way to do it is bitcoin and BTM machines.

Honestly, nothing to envy. Whomever has familiarity there with BTC is basically due to their dire situation, and they tend to keep it rather much to themselves for fear of people trying to steal them from them. As things stand, it’s almost an every man for himself kind of situation, where the BTC becomes a choice for the boldest pretty much out of despair.

I think Venezuela have one of the most engaging people into Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and now wonder why as their national paper money became worthless due to extravagant inflation. I kinda envy them because they are so familiar with this phenomenon and they trust Blockchain like no otters...meanwhile in my country if you use bitcoin you're illegal and you are surfing dark web and you're a drug dealer ...this is the mentality which is sad to bare...this is why I barely speak about Bitcoin to strangers.

If he bans the transactions, then the users will go underground. But on a serious note, I don't think that he'll do that. Even Maduro realize that it is not Bitcoin that caused economic collapse in his country. And bans are useless, when he don't have a large police force to enforce the measure. From what I have heard, more than half of the police force have gone AWOL, as the salaries are getting delayed.

This was from January? This went right through my radar. Almost didn't believe it considering their previous stance on cryptos. Maybe they've finally decided they can use it as a buffer?


Well, there's always that risk. The guy outright expropriates businesses so I wouldn't be surprised if it does happen.

First Bitcoin ATM and partnership between PundiX and Traki, Venezuela's largest retail chain, who plans to install physical systems throughout country to allow customers to pay in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Well, I definitely didn't expect such huge steps will take place exactly in Venezuela

Not really sure if this could help the situation happening in Venezuela. It's a good thing that installation of bitcoin ATM is increasing not only in Venezuela but also in other country... But I'm more focused on the situation in Venezuela whether this ATM could help them or not. Or if it's really a good thing for the citizens or the government are the one that will benefit from it.
Since Venezuela is having a big issue in their country, why not the government focus on solving it rather than this... Or is it their solution to solve the problem? I am not against this since it could be a step to achieve adoption... Since this post was last january and now it's October, what does this ATMs have done for the people of Venezuela? Was it helpful or not??

And every day you learn something new.
I have never seen one of those things live, and I never thought coinradarmap would be listing them, then you could add all the tobacco shops in France and all the Zebrapay (?) terminals in Romania (I don't know if they are still active) if we add this one. There was also PayPoint in the UK with 20k shops but some partnership went totally wrong.

It says ATM then it should be automated. That one is more like HATM (human-assisted)

Oh, and...


5) December 2019: Maduro bans bitcoin trasnactions 

I know I’ve been on about this BATM in Venezuela lately quite a bit … I’t pretty interesting, but the most important thing I’d like to re-emphasize is the fact that a BATM is seen differently there due to the dire situation of the Venezuelans. The usage is the same (purchase or sell crypto), but the aim is rather much different (pretty much survival there vs a normally more enthusiastic/techno/freak/investor approach for example in, lets say Europe).

On to your question, the article you reference above is a translation from this one: https://www.criptonoticias.com/comunidad/adopcion/venezuela-primer-cajero-comprar-bitcoin-dash (by the way, I didn’t see the reference to credit the Spanish version within the English one). The translation is pretty good, but not as precise as should be when stating "The cashier receives USD in cash to effectuate the sale of the cryptocurrencies". In Spanish, you use the term "Cajero" nowadays more related to ATM ("cajero automático") than cashier (person). The original intent was related to ATM, but was loosely translated as "cashier" which is normaly the person.

Regardless, the link I provided above (Spanish version of the article) contains an embedded tweet that has a photograph of the ATM (AKA "cashier"). The instructions on screen state “3. Put cash into the machine”. Voilá …

In summary:
1) Jan 2019: CryptoBuyer announced the first ATM in Venezuela, to be installed in Caracas.
It was installed, tested, but never went live for some reason I have not been able to trace.
 
2) September 2019: BTM installed in San Antonio del Tachira (a few kilometres off the frontier with Colombia). The BTM is a tiny device, portable, and that requires both customer and shopkeeper to perform the TX, normally in cash. The company is Panda BTM.

3) October 2019: second BTM installed in Mérida.

4) November 2019: First (again) ATM installed in Venezuela (Caracas). This time it seems to be open to public and is fully operational (alas some issues during tests, rendering no BTC available, only Dash – later resolved). (B)ATM looks like a (small) money ATM, and is self-suficcient.


ATM:



BTM:

The 3 merits are for making my brain melt dealing with those three!!! 

Ok...so, if you have time explain to me like I'm really stupid cause I feel like right now
This the article from the true ATM, right?
https://currencymarket24.com/venezuela-has-its-first-atm-to-buy-bitcoin-and-dash-breaking-news/

So how is this one different from the other?

Technically, the one installed in San Antonio del Tachira is a BTM, not an ATM, and therefore does not technically count as an ATM in some inventories that are made on ATMs worldwide.

The BTM is installed by Panda BTM, and is a portable device similar to those used to pay with your credit card at a store. The idea here is that the shop teller assists you in the purchase, and you end up paying in cash (although I have seen a video where both customer and seller use their fingerprints to access the device, so there may be some account related method that is not currently listed in Panda BTM’s website – it states cash).

See https://www.bitcoin.com.mx/panda-btm-coloca-el-primer-cajero-automatico-de-bitcoins-en-venezuela/ (in Spanish) and https://pandabtm.io (English selectable).

The one I mentioned yesterday that was installed in Caracas, is a "conventional" BATM, and is installed by a company that apparently is registered to the SUNACRIP (government authority in Venezuela that is responsible for all crypto-related regulation there).

This is a great news for bitcoin, it will surely be a big step for the dominance of bitcoin in the world. Little by little, bitcoin and other cryptos are already taking over small monetary systems in the world. I've also read before that there are some stores that already accepts bitcoin and altcoins and it should give us massive hope for the future of crypto.

Are you talking about Venezuela, or some other country? Do you have any proof for this? If this information is accurate, then they should have bargained with the government and tried to get the fees reduced. Most of the government officials have zero knowledge about Bitcoin and with some awareness they could have taken a less hostile stance. But still, it is encouraging that the government initially allowed the ATM to be set up (in my country, when the last time someone tried to do that, he ended up in jail).

Although this 15% fee sounds really high, I don't think that it affects them in a big way. The ATM users will be paying this (on top of your commissions), so they are not going to incur any losses. I agree that 15% is very high. But if there are no other options, then people would be willing to give it a go. During 2014/15, when there were not many Bitcoin sellers in India, it was common to see ads in Localbitcoins of merchants asking commissions up to 10% or 15%. So this is not very uncommon.

The last time a company was tried to install a bitcoin atm , the goverment asked 15% fees and the company gave up.

I m sorry to tell you , we dont have any bitcoin atm in venezuela. Why we confuse pos machine and bitcoin atm?

I’ve been trying to find out on my local board a bit more about the situation in Venezuela and how BATMs may have any impact there at all.

First we need to remember that they are living in a situation that is pretty dire, with a  galloping hyperinflation and minimum wages set at just a couple of dollars. That is roughly what it costs to purchase a kilo of meat and a dozen of eggs or so over there. In the last 30 day, their local currency, the Bolivar, has depreciated around 50% vs the USD. Food and supplies are scarce, with people needing to cross the frontiers to countries such as Colombia in order to be able to get them (those that can), and essentials such as medicine are tough to obtain, especially in Caracas. In addition, crime rate is very high, even more so in the capital.

All the above deems a Bitcoin ATM something very different from how we see it from a first world country’s point of view. Whilst some may be seeing at a positive element towards BTC extension to other latitudes, the truth is that it is not an exotic item to be used by crypto enthusiastics and anonymous investors. Rather more, Venezuelans prefer to, if they can, obtain USD and other currencies such as Colombian Pesos (especially those close to the frontier), as a means to fight hyperinflation on their personal economy.
Those that are more tech-savvy or bold, may venture into Bitcoin, many with the intent of making a profit, where the profit (above the investment) is sold for currency in order to cover basic needs. That is not exempt from risk, but the dire situation claims for boldness and, yes, risk. Selling BTC is also not trivial. Many resort to Local bitcoins or crossing the frontier and selling them in physical exchanges that accept BTC in bordering countries.

BATM placement is also something to consider. Using it in longish operations on an open place is pretty risky due to crime rates. The one placed in San Antonio del Táchira (near the border with Colombia) is locates in a travel agency on the main street, and that helps for it to be secure to some extent.

Arley Lozano Panda Group and CEO the founder of PandaBTM is the responsible for setting up of the country’s first Bitcoin ATM in Venezuela, thanks to Him. And it is very nice to know that another state like Venezuela has atm for btc.The said atm allows consumers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with fiat depository transmittal like bank.

Because of this, we can see the better future of btc and other altcoins around the world, additional ATM machine which offers exchanges of fiat to altcoins and vice versa is another big stepping stone for high speed of innovation and exchanges.

Well... the first part is OK, but not the second part. From what I have heard, the ordinary citizens of Venezuela are using Bitcoin, along with other assets such as gold and USD as a store of value. With the national currency losing its value every day, they can't store their wealth in the form of fiat. But the issue is that it is not easy to purchase any of these assets. I have heard about premium (or markup) in excess of 30%.

But using it as a currency for shopping is not very common. And I don't think that the government is going to tolerate it. As long as the people use Bitcoin as a store of value, they are going to be fine. The government may not be happy with it, but they will get along. But using BTC as a currency (i.e replacing the national currency) is not something that the government is going to just sit back and watch.

Good to see such type of news which makes me delighted, It's really a good thing when a country started ATM service regarding BTC. Since Venezuela is suffering a monetary crisis for a long time and I don't know how it's working for the shake of their economy and welfare of their population, but they have to invent different ways to get recovered from this draught, I believe that short of the initiative will encourage another country to take on, I know Germany has already taken the lead of Bitcoin revolution. We have to wait for a long time to see this trend available in every country because Still Dollar and Gold are the most popular tools for holding and saving for the future purpose.