World's First Bitcoin ATM Debuts

Bitcoins, which have uses ranging from poker to murdering people, are now available for ATM withdrawal. On Tuesday, a coffee shop in Vancouver was the first in the world to unveil such a machine.

The machine converts bitcoins into Canadian dollars and vice versa, according to CBC News. The machine is operated by Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs and Nevada-based Robocoin.

According to CBC News, “…Bitcoiniacs reported that it was buying bitcoins for $183.21 each and selling them for $207.37 to $211.32. The virtual currency’s value has swung wildly in the past year, starting at $13 in January and hitting a high of $266 in April.”

Though bitcoins are sometimes used in shady ways thanks in part to Silk Road, whose owner was accused of seeking out a hitman and offering to pay in bitcoins, the currency is also used by legitimate businesses and has very practical purposes.

Bitcoins were developed in 2009 by an anonymous developer known only as Satoshi Nakamoto as a peer-to-peer, decentralized digital currency. The marketplace will cap out in the future at 21 million bitcoins. Currently there are about 11 million in circulation.

In the post-Black Friday world, some poker sites turned to bitcoin. WinPoker, a member of the iPoker network, began accepting such deposits in March. Switch Poker has been offering bitcoin options since November of 2011. SealsWithClubs chose to deal exclusively with bitcoins.

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