Taiwan Regulators Block Robocoin Bitcoin ATMs
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has stated it will prevent the installation of Robocoin bitcoin ATMs there, responding almost immediately to the company's plans to introduce machines in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Zeng Mingzong, FSC chairman, made the statement in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA). According to an article published on CNA's website at 14:56 Taipei time today: bitquick. "Central Bank and FSC recently released a joint statement warning against bitcoin. According to the Central Bank, bitcoin is not a currency; financial institutions and the public....
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Seattle and Austin will soon become the first US cities with bitcoin ATMs, provided everything goes according to plan. The machines are coming from ATM manufacturer Robocoin and the company claims they will be installed by the end of the month, Reuters reports. Robocoin ATMs are more elaborate than their Lamassu counterparts. They are cash-only machines and they have a few additional security features, such as biometric and optical scanners. In theory, this should allow much higher levels of security than regular ATMs. The barcode scanner can be used to scan QR codes and transfer bitcoins....
The first batch of Robocoin ATMs destined for the Far East is expected to land in Taiwan and Hong Kong later this month. The company is planning to expand its presence in Europe and North America, but for now, eight new units are receiving final touches and they should ship to Asia sometime in January. The company noted that it is heading to "bitcoin-hungry" markets in Asia, namely Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is not clear whether mainland China will get any bitcoin ATMs soon, given its clampdown on bitcoin operators last month. "Bitcoin demand in Asia is amazing," said Robocoin CEO Jordan....
There are a surprising number of bitcoin ATMs currently on the market for entrepreneurs willing to make an investment. Companies like Robocoin and Lamassu are building and selling ATMs that can exchange government-backed currencies for bitcoin all over the world. While hardware and software are readily available, the potential roadblock for many of these ATMs is compliance. In many countries the regulation of virtual money transmitters is still something of a grey area. Additionally, some governments do not appear to be interested in hosting virtual currency ATMs at all. CoinDesk recently....
Today, Robocoin has announced open enrollment for their Robocoin Wallet, which is needed to use the "Robocoin Bank." Robocoin has taken the first step to moving away from being just a Bitcoin ATM company to becoming a full-fledged "Bitcoin Bank." The Robocoin Banking platform, which utilizes all existing Robocoin ATMs as automated kiosks, will provide banking services to customers around the world in the form of a new Bitcoin wallet: The Robocoin Wallet. Robocoin first revealed plans to change their ATMs into a more functional global network to support Bitcoin earlier this year. Those that....
Yesterday, Robocoin's blog revealed that Bitcoin ATMs were to be revealed in Hong Kong and Taiwan by the end of the month as part of a global expansion program building on the success of the first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, Canada. In prompt response, the head of Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Tseng Ming-Chung [Pictured above] issued a statement essentially banning Bitcoin ATMs from appearing in Taiwan. For those that have been following Bitcoin news out of Asia, the FSC's prompt destruction of the Bitcoin ATM dream in Taiwan should not come as a surprise. Taiwan's Central....