The Dream Slowly being Realized. Bitcoin ATM moving forward!

in #bitcoin6 years ago (edited)

So during this fall, me and another crypto enthusiast, @cryptooutsider set out to embark on bringing a Bitcoin ATM to our town Lacrosse. With neither of us having any business or formal crypto experience, we didn't know what to expect, but we have managed it about as well as we could have thought. There have been several hurdles in our pursuit, but we have gotten over quite a few.

Hurdle 1: Location

This proved to be harder then we thought. Having no connections or footing with Lacrosse area business and putting forth a venture involving the Bitcoin was a tough sell. Many business owners were/are gravely misinformed about what Bitcoin is and does, or were skeptical to lend any trust to us. All in all, we probably visited 15 area business and heard back from half. With that, we got a meeting with three and only the general managers not the owners. We were rejected shortly after the meeting at two, but all you need is one!

A local vape shop saw the opportunity and answered the call. In principal all business should have been responsive to our offer. We would guarantee a monthly fee for renting a small place in their shop to host the ATM. We would also grant a small percentage of ATM fee to the store. We would hold all liability, responsibility and regulation compliance. We would also market the ATM and levy no expectations on the staff of the establishment to know anything Bitcoin related. In reality it was much different however, but this obstacle was though to overcome.

Hurdle 2 ATM and financing

So money isn't exactly overflowing. I as a unpaid intern have almost no disposable income. And my partner is a family man who just had his second child. Picking out a ATM and process we could afford isn't easy so we are thinking about bringing on a third partner, but picking out a ATM of course is more fun then hurdle.

Hurdle 3 Business and Regulation

To really get this venture up and running, we need to form a LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) and then register as a Federal Money Services Business within the first 90 days of operation. We need to be KYC and tax compliant, as well as follow State and local laws. We have done all our research and preparation in this department, thanks in large part to @cryptooutsider .

Hurdle 4 Banking



We hate em, but we need em. This might prove to be the toughest hurdle yet. Convincing a bank to provide a checking account to a cash atm can be difficult enough as a new business, but a Bitcoin one will prove harder. In the few short meetings I have had with local branches, there seems to be a lot of skepticism. This is where my salesmanship qualities have to kick in and I have been going over pitches in my head for weeks. We need somewhere to deposit the cash though and then use online banking to acquire Bitcoin through online exchanges.

Hurdle 5 Marketing

If we get to this point, we will be so energized we will crush it. We already have contacted local tv stations and they have showed interest in doing a story about it. Our atm location is close to college campuses where there are many young minds that may be eager to learn and purchase some bitcoin. In reality, this hurdle is more of a mini one, as marketing the ATM will be quite the pleasure.

I hope with every fiber of my being this works out, I can't express my excitement and joy if it does.

Sort:  

Good luck! Seems from what you said it's basically like putting in a candy machine, when it comes to the shop. Where there are limited installs locally, that can actually bring crypto enthusiasts. Granted, there are online places now days, but I myself have searched out crypto ATM's before. The percentage they take sucks, but it gets you cash in hand. The worst part is that it requires ID.

I don't know if it would bring a lot of business, but it would bring some extra business. People would come in, take out some money, or buy some crypto. Being already in the shop, they are far more likely to buy.

I personally would suggest the head shop carry a few shirts, or some physical coins. Possibly 1 oz silver ones, which are an investment, and kinda cool. That's if it does alright anyway. Such things are hard to find anywhere. Might bring extra business if someone knew they had some crypto merch and could actually buy/sell crypto there. It's a lot less stressful to buy clothing in person than online. You never know if it will fit.

Yah, that is actually a really good idea! Put some bitcoin shirts for sale in there also. Thanks @geekpowered I'm going to bring that up with my partner!

Bongs and crypto? Yes please!!!!!!

Great idea. You will certainly encounter many hurdles, especially with no disposable income to help you with this endeavor, but I think it's commendable to try regardless.

We need people taking proactive measures to get crypto into the real world, instead of just blogging about it like so many do. Commendable efforts @diezeldiddy

Why thank you!

Good work! I will have to check in out when you have it up and running. I will be in La Crosse the next two weekends...any chance you will have it in by then? On another note...great to see La Crosse investing in a miniature heroin den (aka portapotty and needle disposal bin) *said in heavy sarcasm. Merry Christmas!!!

No, I think it might be up and running February is my best guess, but for sure check it out after. hahaha thanks, merry Christmas to also!

I think you have had a great idea.
Good luck for you and Steem on!

Posted using Partiko Android

Good for adoption! You have really stood out as an excellent producer. We would like to invite you to post on our decentralized blog platform, CBNT. By posting posting on the CBNT platform you can mine additional tokens. Our website will be fully launched in the next month or so! Thank you, cbnt.io

I'll take a look, but is is much different then steemit?

The main difference is monetized advertising, so holding the token has extra benefits. It being similar also means an easy way to increase your revenue from producing content. The English website will be launched in the next few weeks and feel free to give it a try.

Hey, hope you are doing well. We have recently launched our website at web.cbnt.io. We would like to invite you to help test the English website for functionality and bugs. This is also live mining! By being early on the platform, you can mine a proportionally larger amount of tokens. Referral code is XCZYlm

As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!


This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
@c-squared runs a community witness. Please consider using one of your witness votes on us here

Congratulations @diezeldiddy! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You received more than 10000 upvotes. Your next target is to reach 15000 upvotes.

Click here to view your Board
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:

Christmas Challenge - Send a gift to to your friends

Support SteemitBoard's project! Vote for its witness and get one more award!