[resinryder]

Bitcoin coming to a atm. check it...

Bitcoin ATMs coming to the U.S.
By Doug Gross, CNN
updated 6:02 PM EST, Tue February 18, 2014 | Filed under: Innovations


(CNN) -- Bitcoin, the emerging if still somewhat mysterious digital currency, may be coming soon to a high-tech ATM near you.

Kiosks that allow people to buy the virtual coins, or exchange them for cash, will be installed within the next month or so in Seattle and Austin, Texas, according to Robocoin, the Las Vegas-based company that makes the machines.

They will be the first such ATMs in the United States. Robocoin has installed machines in Vancouver, British Columbia, with more in Canada, Hong Kong, Europe and Asia in the works.

The emergence of public ATMs, the company says, is a step toward making Bitcoin, a currency that's not backed by a government or bank and has no physical assets to prop up its value, a more comfortable buy for mainstream users outside the Webcentric circles where it currently thrives.
Here's how Bitcoin works
Can Bitcoin go mainstream?

"We think it's a huge breakthrough when it comes to bringing accessibility to the consumers," Robocoin CEO Jordan Kelley said.

Since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin has fluctuated wildly in value. Currently, a single Bitcoin is worth about $636. That value was as high as $1,000 in December as investors began leaping into the currency.

Some traditional businesses, including online retailer Overstock.com, some Subway sandwich shops and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, have begun accepting Bitcoin.

But the anonymous nature of the currency also has linked it with less reputable outlets. Bitcoin and other digital "cryptocurrencies" have been the de facto payment system on underground websites that deal in drugs, weapons and other illegal merchandise.

Last week, the anonymous owners of black-market website Silk Road announced that hackers had stolen $2.7 million worth of Bitcoin. In separate incidents, several online Bitcoin exchanges have been taken down by hackers who exploited a flaw to create fake transactions.

Kelley wants his company's machines to help the currency shed its shadier associations, even if that means alienating some supporters who like the mostly anonymous nature of Bitcoin exchanges.

"We're trying to move Bitcoin, put it in the mainstream, bring it to the masses," he said. "To do that, some things have to go by the wayside, and one of them is anonymity."

To create a Robocoin account, a user enters their mobile phone number at one of the kiosks. The machine sends a code to that phone and, after the user enters the code, they are asked to scan the palm of their hand.

"Your phone is your user ID and your palm is your password," Kelly said.

The user is then asked to insert a driver's license or other government-issued ID, further personalizing their account as well as providing Robocoin an opportunity to verify the user's name against government watch lists for terrorists or others who may not legally do business in the machine's home country.

Then, the user takes a photo at the kiosk, which must be verified as a match with the picture on their ID card.

Once their account is verified, a process Kelley said takes two to five minutes, they are free to buy Bitcoins at the kiosk. Customers may either transfer them to an account, using a private code the machine dispenses, or use a smartphone app to store them on their phone.

Robocoin sells the machines for $20,000. Owners make money by charging a small transaction fee to use them, Kelley said.

[Brother Bear]

Originally Posted by resinryder

To create a Robocoin account, a user enters their mobile phone number at one of the kiosks. The machine sends a code to that phone and, after the user enters the code, they are asked to scan the palm of their hand.

"Your phone is your user ID and your palm is your password," Kelly said.

The user is then asked to insert a driver's license or other government-issued ID, further personalizing their account as well as providing Robocoin an opportunity to verify the user's name against government watch lists for terrorists or others who may not legally do business in the machine's home country.

Then, the user takes a photo at the kiosk, which must be verified as a match with the picture on their ID card.

Not for this guy

[TheCleanGame]

LOL, no doubt!

Still, it brings legitimacy to the coin that wasn't there before.

Keep it Clean!

[Gogo8]

Then guess I am a millionaire , can I buy stuff with it or just weed and has ?

[Snook]

Originally Posted by Skoosh

https://www.latimes.com/business/hilt...#axzz2tephzQwD


By Michael Hiltzik

February 10, 2014, 10:07 a.m.

The bitcoin faithful would like you to believe that the virtual currency's recent price swings result solely from the crisis at Mt. Gox, a leading bitcoin exchange firm headquartered in Tokyo.

Don't believe it: The Mt. Gox affair is a symptom, not a cause, of deep-seated problems in the bitcoin system. It's a sign that bitcoins aren't ready to serve as anything but pieces in a very risky, speculative game.

Or as Boston University finance expert Mark T. Williams told state regulators in New York last month, "Bitcoin is an experiment that needs to remain in the laboratory until it can meet the basic standards required to become a beneficial transaction currency."

To recap, Mt. Gox, which at one time was the world's largest bitcoin exchange, announced last week that it was suspending all bitcoin withdrawals for "technical" reasons. That meant if you had an account, or "wallet," at Mt. Gox, your money in bitcoins was frozen--you couldn't transfer them to a bitcoin account elsewhere. In an update Monday, the firm said it would resume withdrawals once the technical issue has been "properly addressed." But it didn't offer a time frame.

The Mt. Gox freeze sent bitcoin prices on a dizzying plunge of 13% to 30%, depending on which service you follow for price quotes. On Bitstamp, bitcoins were quoted at $790 just before the Mt. Gox announcement and $619 just after, a fall of more than 20%. As I type these words, the quote is $674. Back in December, bitcoins were quoted as high as $1,200, a price bitcoin fanciers used as evidence that their pet currency was here to stay.

As we've written before, bitcoins could be a useful device, in principle, for a variety of financial transactions, including exchanges of funds between traditional currencies, the movement of financial assets from one country to another, and other transactions for which traditional banks charge unreasonably high fees.

But they haven't reached that stage yet, and the Mt. Gox crisis shows why in several ways. For one thing, any financial instrument that experiences such wide swings in price over a short period is clearly not something you want to use as a transactional tool. If you're a business with money in, say, Greece, and you want to cash it out as dollars in the U.S., you don't want to use a device that could cost you 20% of your money if you oversleep by an hour.

For another, any system that can be so rattled by the problems of a single dealer, no matter how important -- and Mt. Gox has a much smaller share of the bitcoin exchange business now than it did in mid-2013 -- has a serious flaw. Yes, the world financial system was seriously rattled in 2008 by the failures of several investment banks in the U.S., but governments worldwide have been working hard to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

Finally, as the rumors of problems at Mt. Gox surfaced, the price for bitcoins quoted by the firm diverged sharply from that elsewhere in the market -- Mt. Gox had to offer a higher rate to attract customers. In a well-functioning market, that would give traders an arbitrage opportunity -- buy bitcoins in one place and sell them at Mt. Gox for an instant 20% profit. But no rational market offers arbitrage spreads that wide, and of course the roach-motel aspect of the trade is that once you bought in at Mt. Gox, you couldn't sell out.

Bitcoin doesn't have the centralized rule-making that could keep another Mt. Gox from blowing up. Some bitcoin fans say that's a virtue, but it's not. "Bitcoin is built on a flawed doctrine of self-regulation," Williams told me by email, "and the cracks are starting to show."

He calls bitcoins a "highly speculative virtual commodity" that should be regulated by commodities regulators in the U.S. and elsewhere. Ownership is highly concentrated -- by one estimate, fewer than 800 accounts control half of all bitcoins, which gives them enormous influence over the price. Williams said that means that the price is already inflated.

The real problem is the lack of regulation of a business in which most trading is handed by firms located in places such as China, Slovenia and Bulgaria. That's why many would-be market-makers are urging government regulators in the U.S. to license bitcoin exchange firms.

The Winklevoss twins, who were made famous by their role in the history of Facebook and are hoping to start a bitcoin investment fund, say regulators should impose disclosure and minimum capital requirements, along with other consumer protection rules, on the marketplace.

They know that without these, bitcoins can't survive. But the more regulation you have, the more bitcoins just look like another conventional currency or investment vehicle, and that cuts against the libertarian streak in much of the bitcoin community.

The Bitcoin Foundation, which functions as an informal overseer of the bitcoin flame but has no real authority, issued a statement Monday acknowledging that Mt. Gox serves as a "good reminder that Bitcoin is still young and experimental." No kidding. The baby has potential, but it still has a long, long way to go before it can stand on its own two feet, and it's not at all clear that it will even make it to adolescence.

Reach me at @hiltzikm on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or by email.


Sk
;-)_~~
(Let's see if I edited that right.)

I didn't read all of this article, thanks for posting it Skoosh but let's remember, one can not always 'trust' what the laboratories and media say about anything. today, if it deals with money or taxes, all is politically motivated, good and bad. let me see what would be a good example of their BS ?????? Oh yes, cannabis: will make you crazy, its a class 1 drug and you will become addicted if you use it.

and I agree, cannabis has its own inherent 'trade value'

[GrowerGoneWild]

Woah.. had to go through alot of BC info to get to potcoin..

Anyways.. I've redirected my mining efforts back into potcoin. As much as I like doge its almost too silly, Potcoin is purpose built with clear intent.

Just a public service reminder.. Potcoin recently forked.. so get your wallet updated ASAP!

[TheCleanGame]

Originally Posted by GrowerGoneWild

As much as I like doge its almost too silly

Yeah... but people are sheep.

That, and I'm seeing doge integrating well, good development team, just added options that will cover lost coins, and yeah... it's stupid silly and morons love it. Bow to the stupid choices the masses make, as they're capable of the most profit. LOL

I'm betting on doge but wouldn't mind some potcoin. lol

Keep it Clean!

[GrowerGoneWild]

Originally Posted by TheCleanGame

Yeah... but people are sheep.

I'm betting on doge but wouldn't mind some potcoin. lol

Keep it Clean!

Trade your doge for pot.. I was mining doge when it was easy. So I picked up some pot. And its easy to mine for potcoin, I dont have the greatest hash rate but I think its worth a few days of mining to get in on the ground floor of the coin.

[OG savatage]

I'm not really looking at it as a "get rich quick" scheme. There's 50 million different named coins out there now. This one is for OUR community. I support our cannabis community any way I can, and this is just one other way to do it. Like writing my government officials, or gathering sigs for a legalization drive. Not expecting to make any money off of it. With my wimpy video card, I doubt I could mine much at all anyway!

On the Potcoin Subreddit, peeps give it away in tips. There's even a "faucet" you can tap every 12 hours that drips small fractions of the coin to anyone who hits it. Maybe instead of a faucet they should call it a community joint? Hits for all?

WallstreetCoin, KittehCoin, BeerCoin, UFOCoin, even RonPaulCoin? Damn straight there should be a Potcoin! If cryptocurrency is here to stay, then I'll support the one for cannabis. CannaCoin would have been my preference for the name tho. Although Potcoin is better than DopeCoin (which also exists).

[IGROWMYOWN]

Originally Posted by Dilbert Do

Isn't trading weed for sex the original cannabis currency?