Australia’s first Bitcoin ATM goes live

Australia's first Bitcoin ATM, the orange machine, has gone live in Sydney allowing users to buy and sell the cryptocurrency and exchange it for cash.

Australia’s first Bitcoin ATM, the orange machine, has gone live in Sydney allowing users to buy and sell the cryptocurrency and exchange it for cash.

The machine, the first of several to be introduced across Australia, is live in a Westfield mall and will enable people to register an account on the ATM in around five minutes.

The machine will scan the user’s government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s licence, and uses facial recognition technology to verify that their face matches the photo.

Users will also scan their palm on the machine, which is used along with a PIN and phone number to verify their identity in future transactions.

Once an account is set up, users can add Bitcoins to their virtual wallet by feeding in cash or cards and can sell Bitcoins to extract cash.

Chris Guzowski, CEO of ABA Technologies, commented: "Here we have it in a Westfield shopping centre where it’s available immediately and securely for everyone.

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"We want to allow every Australian to easily buy and sell Bitcoin," he added.

Mr Guzowski confirmed that transactions are secured by SSL cryptography and are immune to the recent Heartbleed bug currently rife on the internet.

The ATM was bought from RoboCoin, a US firm credited with providing the first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver in October 2013.

The orange machine will be the 11th RoboCoin ATM to launch worldwide.

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