First bitcoin atm was installed

Nice move. The use of foreign currencies is commonplace in Venezuela. But in all this fiat frenzy, and an economy in crisis, interest in Bitcoin in the region has grown.

Colombia is currently the country with the most Bitcoin ATMs in Latin America and is close to doubling this number thanks to a partnership between Paxful and Coinlogiq to install more than 20 ATMs throughout the country. Other efforts to expand the crypto ecosystem in Venezuela include a recent partnership between PundiX and Traki , Venezuela's largest retail chain.

The department store plans to install physical point-of-sale systems throughout its 49 locations across Venezuela to allow customers to pay in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Or, if you already own some bitcoins, the machine can scan a QR code on your mobile phone and dispense cash.

It's yet another sign that Bitcoin, created just over five years ago, is moving out of the realm of computer geeks and into the mainstream. The Nevada guys who built Robocoin tested it out at a San Jose, California, convention last May , but this is the first time they've installed one of their machines in a permanent fashion.

Bitcoin is a system controlled a network of machines spread across the internet. When you buy a bitcoin, you're essentially buying cryptographically protected numbers that you can then move around using a global, peer-to-peer network of computers. It's money, but it moves as easily as email. Bitcoins sprung into the public spotlight as the default currency for The Silk Road, a online drug marketplace that was shut down earlier this month.

But today, you can use bitcoins at a small but growing number of businesses.

You can pay for a cab in San Francisco, or a pint of beer in London or a caffe macchiato here at the Waves Coffee House in Vancouver, where the first Robocoin is nestled right next to the coffee bar. To the Canadian investors who bought this first Robocoin — three men who met in a high school and have since gone on to found a bitcoin trading store in Vancouver called Bitcoiniacs — Robocoin will let people to buy and sell bitcoins without going through some of the hoops that are required by Bitcoin exchanges.

You don't need a bank account to use Robocoin and, at least in Canada, you don't need any identification. The U. But even the Canada model is rather complicated.

He got into crypto investing in college and saw that there was potential to not only get more involved in the industry, but to make cash-to-crypto transactions scalable and more sustainable. He told PBN that as more clarity and guidance from regulators comes, the interest in cash-to-crypto transactions in Hawaii continues to grow.

Confused by Bitcoins? You won't be alone

CoinFlip also offers around the clock customer support. Polotsky said that while some people are hesitant to invest in crypto because it seems intangible, he likened it being similar to that of your checking account — a virtual place where you hold onto money and value. This has also been on Calamaan's mind, who is looking into allowing customers to make purchases at his store using cryptocurrency, so it "feels more tangible.