{"id":6046,"date":"2023-04-16T09:54:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-16T09:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/?p=6046"},"modified":"2024-06-01T07:54:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T07:54:30","slug":"marketing-manager-generalbytes-about-bitcoin-atms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/marketing-manager-generalbytes-about-bitcoin-atms\/","title":{"rendered":"Marketing Manager of GeneralBytes Talking About Bitcoin ATMs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"S13 E9: Martijn Wismeijer on GeneralBytes Bitcoin ATMs\" width=\"604\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/huJeOWFu8G8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Martijn Wismeijer is best known for becoming the world&#8217;s first Bitcoin cyborg. In 2014, he implanted an NFC chip in his hand and has used it for different purposes ever since.  Apart from that he is also working as a marketing manager at General Bytes, one of the largest Bitcoin ATM companies in the world that offers a full range of services to Operators, from hardware to conversion kits and fleet management software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Should Anyone Use Bitcoin ATM Today?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Per Martijn, the Bitcoin ATM&#8217;s best use case would be in countries where the banking system isn&#8217;t that good. Getting into Bitcoin can be daunting, and if you&#8217;re in any such country it&#8217;s much easier to have a convenient way to get your crypto for cash in minutes. Or if you want to sell it. Using exchanges in these situations will take a lot of time to get your cash out. Another use case where Bitcoin ATMs come in handy is remittance. When you compare it to usual services like Western Union, Bitcoin ATMs are much cheaper and faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">GeneralBytes Machines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Martijn explained the variety of options they offer with their machines. Of course, you can choose between one-way or two-way machines depending if you want only to sell Bitcoin or you want to buy it too. There&#8217;s also a conversion kit that is essentially software you can use to convert a universal kiosk to a <a href=\"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/\">Bitcoin ATM<\/a>. It&#8217;s really the cheapest way to get into the business. There are models that offer all functions at high speed and in compact form for those expensive locations. They also offer machines with screens on top, which you can use to attract eyeballs. Another great feature they implemented in one of the models is a PCI-compliant card reader and processor to support cashless transactions. If you use money transport services, you can also install code locks with audit trails. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He talked a bit about the difference between the dispensing and recycling of banknotes. Usually, you have two boxes in a machine where money can go. A dispenser is where outgoing banknotes are stored, while the acceptor is the box for the money that users put in. This is a traditional, reliable, and fast process. But when a dispenser is empty you need to refill it. The recycler helps to reduce those cash calls. It will take the banknotes from the acceptor and put them in the dispenser for further use. The recycler drawbacks are that it&#8217;s slower and it reduces the dispenser capacity. So, you don&#8217;t want to use it in the high volume locations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Privacy and Regulations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having in mind that ATMs are the most visible part of the Bitcoin network infrastructure, they are always the ones that get hammered by regulators, and these <a href=\"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/bitcoin-atm-regulatory-requirements-in-usa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bitcoin ATM regulations<\/a> can really vary depending on the country. So, it&#8217;s really important to do research before buying the machine and define whether you are going to buy only or you want to sell also and whether you&#8217;re going to store the funds on an exchange or in your own wallet. For example, if you set the machine to purchase Bitcoin directly on exchange from your fiat balance that would make you a money transmitter in the U.S. But if you sell Bitcoin from your own wallet you will not be regarded as a money transmitter, regardless if you buy back the same amount you sold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/manufacturer\/5\/general-bytes-bitcoin-atm-producer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GeneralBytes software<\/a> has many options where you can tweak your machines depending on the AML KYC limits and requirements for verification checks. You can also set different policies for groups of machines if your company is operating in different countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ATMs were always regarded as a more private way to purchase Bitcoin because they use only cash. Recently privacy is questioned because of security cameras and identity verifications, but Martijn explains that these are just means of protection from bad actors which brings more good because if a machine is non-compliant and has a lot of bad actors it becomes a problem for the whole network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Countries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interview, they touched on the topic of adoption by countries at that moment, where the <a href=\"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/countries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">United States is the most dominant<\/a>, followed by Canada, Spain, Australia, Poland, El Salvador, Switzerland, Romania, Hong Kong, and Austria which completes the top ten.  The question that rose is why we can&#8217;t see some of the more developed countries there, like Germany or France for example. The answer lies in regulation. Martijn explains how regulations in Germany are very strict from the beginning and you basically need to strike an alliance with a bank in order to get approved, which makes things really complex from the get-go. There&#8217;s also a remittance use case we mentioned. If a country has a lot of people working in other countries and sending money home it can highly affect the ATM numbers like El Salvador for example which made Bitcoin a legal tender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the obvious security breaches that can happen to Bitcoin ATMs is that someone can break them and steal the cash, but in this scenario the Bitcoin is safe. While talking about security, Martijn switched the focus to the breaches that come from hackers and can put your bitcoin in danger. This is because GeneralBytes experienced such a breach recently where 56 bitcoins disappeared. So if you encounter such a breach firstly you must shut down the machines and wait for the official patch to update your software. Even if you haven&#8217;t experienced a breach it&#8217;s crucial to keep the software up to date. GeneralBytes is also working on moving all of its customers to their own self-hosted instances which will be secured with VPN so only authorized people can have access. Operators should also limit the risk by reducing the number of funds in hot wallets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Martijn is an interesting character with a lot of stuff to share. Having heard what he talked about we can conclude that the most important parts of the Bitcoin ATM business are to research the trends in the countries you are looking to operate to see if there&#8217;s potential. Then go through regulation in those countries to define the business model you should adopt. After that, you can choose the supplier. Ideally, it should be a manufacturer that offers a lot of different options to support your business models, especially if you plan to operate in different countries. In the end, you should always keep your security up to date whether it&#8217;s physical or virtual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Martijn Wismeijer is best known for becoming the world&#8217;s first Bitcoin cyborg. In 2014, he implanted an NFC chip in his hand and has used it for different purposes ever since. Apart from that he is also working as a marketing manager at General Bytes, one of the largest Bitcoin ATM companies in the world &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/marketing-manager-generalbytes-about-bitcoin-atms\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Marketing Manager of GeneralBytes Talking About Bitcoin ATMs<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,61,39,44],"tags":[38,41],"class_list":["post-6046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bitcoin-atm","category-bitcoin-atm-regulation","category-operating-bitcoin-atm","category-using-bitcoin-atm","tag-bitcoin-atm","tag-operating-bitcoin-atm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6046"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6101,"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046\/revisions\/6101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinatmradar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}