The first-ever bitcoin automated-teller machine has opened in a Vancouver coffee shop.
The bitcoin, now worth about $210, is the world's most popular digital currency. The ATM, which converts cash into bitcoins and bitcoins into cash, started up Tuesday night.
If you insert cash, you get Internet addresses that links you to bitcoins. And if you own bitcoins, you can enter their code to receive cash,
Wired reports.
The bitcoin was created five years ago. A bitcoin is essentially a set of secure numbers that can be transferred around the world through computers to pay for goods and services.
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Only a few businesses accept bitcoins now, but their use is growing. The currency gained negative attention recently after reports that the bitcoin was
widely used by The Silk Road, an Internet drug market shuttered earlier this month.
Robocoin, the Las Vegas-based company that makes the ATMs, sees them gaining worldwide presence. "We think the Vancouver market is enormous, and we're excited to be here," Jordan Kelley, the company's chief executive, told Reuters.
"By the end 2013, we'll be all over Canada. By the end of 2014, we'll be all over the world, including the United States."
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