Bitcoin ATMs still sound convenient. I predict some government will allow them somewhere, no?
What makes you think they are "disallowed" somewhere?licenced
It is not "disallowed" in the US. However, the operator of the ATM would need to be a licensed money transmitter and would need to follow AML rules.
Can you please help me on this: Is it seen in the US as an ATM only if it gives you BTC in return to USD AND vice-versa
or
even if it only gives one BTC from USD? Isn't it seen, in this latter case, as a "vending machine"? It probably depends on the "status" of bitcoins, whether they're seen as a currency or not. That's my opinion but I would appreciate some motivated opinions! Thanks
Following up on Mr Davis, I had a long talk with the U.S. FinCEN about the definition of a "money services business" in regard to the physical bitcoins that I'm selling (like Casascius but with a proprietary system to prevent counterfeits/theft).
They regulate any currency exchange and they view any company that accepts dollars and gives people bitcoins as a currency exchange. I don't know about ATM specific laws, but the registration as a money services business seems to be what's holding people back. It doesn't cost anything upfront but requires a TON of compliance procedures. I'm still wading through it all, as my company is registered as an MSB.