JorgeStolfi
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July 30, 2014, 06:41:13 PM

How and Why to Build an Unbanked Bitcoin ATM

...in which I combine electrical engineering, economy theory, and trading strategies.

wow great article! I love the presented idea of bank-independent ATMs. At first I thought that it's nice how such a thing might prevent banking troubles such as the NZ company you mentioned is facing but then I realized that a network of these ATMs would indeed represent a superior pricing mechanism to what we have today, both in its robustness and its efficiency. Seriously one of the best ideas in Bitcoin space I've read in a long time. I'd be willing to invest in one of these.
I wonder whether one could make money with arbitrage between two such ATMs, say two guys communicating byphone? Or between an ATM and the exchanges?

Prudence would recommend separate cash-in / cash-out reservoirs with manual collection, validation and replenishments.  If someone successfully feeds the ATM a fake 100$ bill, that is a 100$ loss; but if the ATM delivers that fake bill to another client, it may mean bankruptcy or worse.

An ATM with 15'000 - 20'000 USD in cash would be a tempting target for robbers.  ATM heists are endemic here in Brazil. There used to be a bank ATM in the Economy dept building next door, a fridge-sized thing with 1/4" armor plate.  But one night robbers entered the building and used a blowtorch to cut it open.  And two months later they did it again, at the same spot.  More common methods are blowing the ATM open with dynamite, or just prying it loose and trucking it away.