The First US Bitcoin ATM Arrives in New Mexico

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="single-title"><h1><br /></h1><div class="single-info"> <span class="single-author"><a href="http://www.coindesk.com/author/daniel-cawrey/" rel="author" title="Posts by Daniel Cawrey">Daniel Cawrey</a> (<a class="authortwitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/danielcawrey" target="_newwindow">@danielcawrey)</a> | </span> <span class="single-date">Published on February 19, 2014 at 01:14 GMT | </span> <span class="single-category"><strong><em><a href="http://www.coindesk.com/technology/bitcoin-atm/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in Bitcoin ATM">Bitcoin ATM</a>, <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/news/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in News">News</a></em></strong></span></div></div><div class="picture featured"><img alt="bitcoinatmunitedstates" class=" wp-post-image" height="185" src="http://media.coindesk.com/2014/02/bitcoinatmunitedstates-300x185.png" width="300" /></div><span class="wpsr_floatbts_anchor" data-offset="31"></span>After months of rumors and speculation, the first bitcoin ATM in the United States is now in operation.<br />The machine, manufactured by <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/tag/lamassu/">Lammasu</a>, is located in a cigar bar called <a href="http://imbibenobhill.com/site/index.php" target="_blank" title="Imbibe">Imbibe</a> in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is being operated by <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/02/prweb11593591.htm" target="_blank">Enchanted Bitcoin</a>, run by Eric Stromberg.<br />Lamassu and Enchanted Bitcoin worked together to make the US bitcoin ATM a reality.<br />Zach Harvey, CEO of Lamassu, told CoinDesk that Stromberg was able to obtain proper regulatory permissions quickly, and that as a result, the launch occurred upon receipt of the ATM.<br /><blockquote>“He’s been very good at concentrating on what had to be done to be fully compliant. Yet he kept things simple enough to manage a launch only weeks after receiving his machine.”</blockquote><h2><b>Compliance</b></h2>New Mexico happens to be one of only two US states that do not require a money transmitter business (MSB) license to operate. The other is South Carolina.<br />Stromberg’s briskness has allowed his ATM to reach the US market in a short time. The absence of procedural money transmitter requirement in New Mexico may have helped, too.<br />Harvey told CoinDesk that Lamassu’s ATMs have verification features built-in:<br /><blockquote>“We’ve always had compliance in mind. Our machine was designed to scan IDs barcodes and OCR for use with third party verification services.”</blockquote>Compliance means that Lamassu has to remain vigilant on the latest money transmitter policies.<br />“It’s an ongoing project. It’s been a challenge to find a way to take the regulatory requirements and make them quick and painless for the end-consumer,” he said.<br />Physical and not just digital security is important as well, said Harvey.<br /><blockquote>“Our machines were designed to resist any standard smash-and-grab attacks. Anything more than that would render any ATM vulnerable.”</blockquote><h2><b>Demand</b></h2>The current turnaround time for a Lamassu ATM is 10-14 weeks. Harvey told CoinDesk this is because the devices have become rather popular.<br /><blockquote>“This is only due to the recent rise in demand, we are making them and shipping them as fast as possible.”</blockquote>Lamassu is building its ATMs as fast as it can, but it has competitors. Robocoin is planning to <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/first-us-bitcoin-atm-seattle-austin/">launch ATMs in Seattle and Austin, Texas, soon</a>. Further, <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/companies/localbitcoins/">LocalBitcoins.com</a> recently announced <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/localbitcoins-manufacturing-low-cost-bitcoin-atm/">it is building a 2,732 BTC ATM of its own</a>.<br />Because of this, Lamassu needs to deliver ATMs to customers as fast as possible to compete with a growing number of rivals.<br /> <figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_46935"><a href="http://media.coindesk.com/2014/02/lamassuupclose.png"><img alt="A close-up rendering of what the Lamassu bitcoin ATM looks like. Source: Lamassu" class=" wp-image-46935 " height="332" src="http://media.coindesk.com/2014/02/lamassuupclose.png" width="418" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="figcaption_attachment_46935">A close-up rendering of what the Lamassu bitcoin ATM looks like. Source: <a href="https://lamassu.is/#faqs" target="_blank">Lamassu</a></figcaption></figure>“We are currently ramping up production from 40 machines a month to 60 machines a month, and then to 80 machines a month. Our goal is to build up inventory and reduce lead times to zero,” Harvey said.<br />Harvey wants to be able to serve its customer base as quickly as possible.<br />“If people want our machine, we want to be able to give it to them now,” he said.<br />Lamassu ATMs <a href="https://lamassu.is/" target="_blank">are available to order</a>. The price is $5,000 for one unit, $4,500 for 5-9 units and $4,000 for 10 units or more.<br />The company does accept fiat in the form of bank wires, but it prefers payment in bitcoin, according to its website.</div>

The First US Bitcoin ATM Arrives in New Mexico

Daniel Cawrey ( @danielcawrey) | Published on February 19, 2014 at 01:14 GMT | Bitcoin ATM , News After months of rumors and speculatio...

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