Albuquerque, N.M. — not tech-obsessed San Francisco or New York — has claimed the title of first city to install an operational Bitcoin vending machine in the U.S.
The machine is up and running, as of Tuesday, at a cigar shop called Imbibe near the University of New Mexico, according to an announcement by Lamassu, the machine's manufacturer. The vending machine allows people to insert cash — in exchange, it gives a digital stash of bitcoins.
See also: A Complete, Interactive History of Bitcoin
First operational #bitcoin ATM in USA!! Imbibe Nob Hill in ABQ. Congrats @LamassuBTC @JuanLlanos @msantoriESQ pic.twitter.com/uXUGwfchoV
— Pedro (@99Piloto) February 18, 2014
Though the machines have been hailed as Bitcoin "ATMs," Lamassu eschewed the term in favor of "vending machine" since it does not function like a true ATM in that it doesn't dispense cash.
A true Bitcoin ATM might not be far behind, though. Robocoin, a Las Vegas-based company that installed its first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver last year, has said it intends to install the first U.S. Bitcoin ATMs later this month. The Robocoin machines allow for both cash-to-Bitcoin and Bitcoin-to-cash transactions.
Prospective Bitcoin vending machine operators have been trying to bring the devices to other cities, such as New York and San Francisco, for some time, but they've faced regulatory hurdles. Enchanted Bitcoins, the company that owns the Albuquerque machine, said it believes it has cleared those hurdles by establishing a full anti-money laundering program and registered as a money services business with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Check out the video below for a short demonstration of how the Bitcoin vending machine works.

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