Trying out a Bitcoin ATM for research....
Today, I hunted down and did a bit of a hands on experience with a Bitcoin ATM for a article that I'm writing. So, I dutifully headed over to CoinATMRadar and found that there are surprisingly very few in the Den Haag and Rotterdam area of The Netherlands. Hmmm... well, there were at least a couple in The Hague, so I made it today's mission to just visit one to purchase and sell a small amount of Bitcoin to see how the entire process worked.
On CoinATMRadar, you can filter the various machines with a number of attributes. I found one that had a decent fee spread (it reminds me of the Foreign Exchange rip-offs for tourists...), that was reporting price feeds online, and had a good selection of recent reliability reviews from users. Unfortunately, the owner details were for a company called... ShitCoins. Yep... that name might have sounded like a great name after the 20th bottle of beer... but is not really a trust inspiring name....
So, I headed straight over to the dodgy looking alcohol shop where the Bitcoin ATM was hosted... and was directed to the back of the store, behind huge piles of beer and liquor into the furthest, darkest corner of the little long shop. Great... this is how I was going to die... mugged in a dark end of a dingy shop but maniacs who thought that I was a Bitcoin Billionaire...
... the truth was much worse. The Bitcoin ATM looked like tacky vending machine for condoms and sex toys... encased in a huge prison like structure (Faraday cage?....). Seriously... I would have to get locked in there during the purchase?
You press the buzzer... and it unlocks (I guess the guy at the store front lets you in...), and then you press the buzzer to get out. I'm really not entirely sure of the purpose of the entire show... unless it is just too kinky to buy Bitcoin with more than a single person? Who knows what sort of deviant tastes people have... A Bitcoin buying orgy wouldn't be the weirdest things...
Well... in the end, I successfully purchased and sold back a small amount of Bitcoin... and I was released from the cage without losing any limbs. I have to say that the entire experience was quite unpleasant... it made the act of buying Bitcoin to feel like secretly purchasing pornography under the counter.... a secret, illicit deal in the bowels of a dark shop.
I know that more "professional" looking ATMs exist.... and perhaps I will try those out next time if I need to do more additional research. However, there just weren't any in my local area. I do see the advantages of using a Bitcoin ATM for the non-KYC cryptocurrency purchases... but the fee that charge (8-10%) is quite ludicrous! Personally, I would prefer the option of using a P2P service like Local Bitcoins instead. With that service, you can do the transactions in a public place... rather than a place that made you feel decidedly unsafe!
Still... it was an interesting experience... one that I hope not to repeat until there is a wider acceptance of cryptocurrencies, and the ATMs find themselves in locations that are similar to regular ATMs!
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