The public backlash against the proposed move appears to be accelerating. On the Korean president's Blue House website, more than 4,000 petitions have been filed related to "virtual currencies" since Jan. 10.

One petition asking the Minister of Justice to step down in light of the move received more than 30,000 signatures on its own. According to Reuters, one petition alone has attracted more than 100,000 signatures and the website itself became inaccessible at one point due to excessive traffic.

I'll have to talk to Jimbo. The ATM I was looking at was looking to really squeeze me.

No ID required. To maintain a daily limit for the purpose of AML laws, they require a cell phone on which you can receive text messages.

To sell coins, you enter your cell number and they immediately text you a code number to enter into the ATM. This unlocks the ATM and allows you to do the transaction. After you have specified the amount of the transaction, it displays a QR code to scan with your mobile hot wallet.

It then tells you to wait for the transaction to be confirmed by the network. I always include a priority fee and it has always been included in the next block. After it has been confirmed, it texts you and tells you to return to the ATM and tap "redeem".  They then text you another code number. When you enter that number it immediately starts spitting out $100 bills.

The time it takes for the whole process depends on the time it takes to confirm the TX. It has never taken me more than a half hour.

The cell phone I use is an anonymous pay-as-you-go Speakout flip-phone from a 711 store. I have several of them (all free from promotions) in case I ever need to exceed my daily limit. Because Speakout allows free texting even when the time has run out, they cost nothing and are always available.

The Android device I use for the Mycellium wallet to sweep a paper wallet and send the coins, is a cheapie Blu phone they were giving away for free for buying an air-time top-up in a holiday promotion a couple of years ago. To get Android to boot up I had to insert a SIM card but I found that a non-activated card worked just fine. The SIM card was also free in a promotion and fully anonymous. I connect to the network via free wifi from a donut shop next door. Of course the Android phone has never been connected to my home wifi nor been associated with my identity in any way.

Needless to say, I never connect to Google or Playstore. I installed Mycellium from an APK file downloaded on a Windows PC from the Mycellium website.

Buying coins is even easier. You simply tap "buy", scan the QR code for your paper wallet's public key, and start feeding in cash. No phones or devices required.

I'll never understand why people have a problem with paper wallets. They're easy to use and and offer the ultimate in security.