The bank allows transactions to be in person, in addition it has ATMs that exchange bitcoins and euros.
Vienna will not only be known as the capital of Austria, the cradle of music, the beautiful city on the banks of the Danube, will also be the first city to host a Bitcoin Bank with physical headquarters, according to Cryptocoinsnews.
A bank dedicated to Bitcoin, apparently the first in the world opened its doors on Mariahilfer Strasse in the center of Vienna, according to The Local, an English-language news site in Austria. The bank was created by a startup Blockchain based in Berlin, Bit Trust Services, and is called Bitcoin-Bank (Bitcoin bank). The bank is designed to make buying and selling Bitcoin easier and safer than other options in person.
The bank's ATMs exchange bitcoins for euros, and vice versa. The bank also provides information on the virtual currency.
Magdalena Isbrandt, managing director of Bit Trust, told state broadcaster ORF that transactions in digital currency are faster than other transactions and can be done without an intermediary.
"Values and money can be sent directly from user to user," he said.
Andreas Petersson, co-founder of Bitcoin Austria, said the main advantage of the digital currency is anonymity.
"If I pay online with bitcoins, I have a degree of privacy," said Petersson. When paying for digital products, such as computer games, a buyer does not feel that they are delivering all their private data, such as their credit card numbers.
Bitcoin expands in Vienna
The first Bitcoin ATM in Austria was launched three years ago. Vienna now has more than 20 merchants who accept Bitcoin, including restaurants, bistros and bars.
According to Bit Trust Services, the company is not only an investor in Bitcoin and Blockchain businesses, but also develops new concepts in the sector.
The company offers assistance with Bitcoin ATMs, payment systems, Bitcoin prepaid cards, vouchers and more.
The founders of the company are brothers Mathias and Oliver Roch. In the 1990s, the brothers developed a patented test method for the stability of tests of permanent anchored systems, such as lighting masts, signaling systems and traffic signals, according to the website.
Source: Cryptocoinsnews
PHOTO: Actual image of Bitcoin-Bank taken from the newspaper The Local