What's the United States' First Bitcoin ATM Doing in a Downtown Austin Bar?

[TexasTowelie]

Handlebar on East 5th is the home of Austin's, and the United States', first Bitcoin ATM.
Credit Kelly Krupa/KUT

The first Bitcoin ATM machine in the U.S. launched today, and it’s right here in Austin.

-snip-

The Austin ATM is owned by Las Vegas-based Robocoin. CEO and founder Jordan Kelley said the decision to bring their first Bitcoin ATM to Austin was influenced by several factors.

“I think Austin is a phenomenal city with an incredible culture, a really good taste for technology,” Kelley says. “It’s centralized in the United States … we wanted to put this right in the heart of the U.S., and it’s sort of at the 50-yard-line.”

Austin’s South by Southwest Festival also influenced the decision to bring the ATM here.

The Robocoin machine is housed inside downtown Austin’s Handlebar, close to where many of this year’s SXSW events will take place. Robocoin co-founder and chief technology officer John Russell said Handlebar’s proximity to SXSW was one of the most enticing aspects of the establishment to the ATM operators.

More at http://kut.org/post/whats-united-states-first-bitcoin-atm-doing-downtown-austin-bar .

Cross-posted in General Discussion.

[cvoogt]

1. good place for a last stand

but seriously, Austin / South by Southwest are major reasons.

[itsrobert]

2. This won't end well.

n/t

[TexasTowelie]

3. I tend to agree with you.

I think that the volatility of Bitcoin as a currency will create too many problems. I can already envision the possibility of a Bitcoin user trying to make a transaction to obtain drinking money and not receiving the funds they are anticipating because of those violations.

Combined with the likelihood that both the machine vendor and the property owner have the potential to skim a portion of the transaction (like a CoinStar machine) could create a tense situation between the property owner and the customer.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. So, how many bitcoins for a beer? Will there be...

a sign with the exchange rate?

Will there be limits on how often the rate changes?

Can I buy a few bitcoins and wait until the rate changes to buy my beer?

And how do I get my change from a $300 bitcoin? A $2500 bitcoin?

[ffr]

5. Don't understand the concept.

Is this like a tax on Internet data?

Ignored.