On a quest to find out more about how the rest of the world is embracing cryptocurrencies, I recently traveled to my first Bitcoin ATM machine in Yakima, Washington. It was located inside a phone shop in the middle of a strip mall area. As soon as we got close, I could see two huge signs advertising the Bitcoin machine inside.
The employees answered our questions and it was very interesting to hear what they had to say. It sounds like there are regular customers that make quite a commute to use the convenience of the ATM machine. Also something that these customers seem to like is the anonymity of the cash-to-Bitcoin that the ATM's provide. The owner of the shop pointed out that any Coinbase account started online and linked to a bank account is traceable when taxes come due.... deposits from an ATM to a paper wallet or Coinbase account not linked are not. So my naive mind that doesn't regularly think about how to evade taxes was blown away by the "bigger picture" that cash-to-Bitcoin ATM's will present. Holy crap, the government is in a panic, I didn't realize this before, but now I see it.
These will change everything.
Another tangent... in our state where marijuana is legal on the state level (but not on the federal level), most shops (or maybe all, sorry, don't quote me) are forced to take cash for their transactions. Since it's federally illegal, banks are reluctant to go into business with pot shops (and there's a lot of them guys and gals!). As more states legalize marijuana at the state level, it's my belief that pot businesses will need Bitcoin (or Potcoin) to store and transact their $$$. It's a weird mix of perfect catalysts that I think will push more and more businesses towards the cryptocurrency world. I wish I had the capital to put in my own Bitcoin ATM machine... how many will be around in 6 months? 12 months? 24 months?
My feeling is a few more than today.