First bitcoin ATM opens in Athen to help cope with the crisis
13 Jul 2015
Spanish startup company Bitchain has installed its first first 2-way bitcoin ATM in Athens, in a bid to beat the country's strict capital controls in the wake of its financial crisis.
The ATM, installed on Saturday, enables customers two-way transactions to convert bitcoins to euro and vice versa, without any limit.
The current controls have enforced a withdrawal limit of up to just €60 per banking account. However, there are no such restrictions on the bitcoin ATM, since the bitcoin is a virtual currency.
Since it is not produced in a nay physical format like notes or coins and is not produced in any particular country, its usage cannot be monitored or controlled.
As a result, its existence from production to handling and storage is exclusively in electronic form and remains a peer-to-peer currency, which can enable users to transact freely around the world, beating all capital controls.
Proponents of the bitcoin say the system is not shady; it can help overseas businesses send money to their Greek offices for use within Greece, or even help make investments in the country, thus helping it out during the current financial crisis.
