Bitcoin machines in Germany: continue to be a difficult patch
General Bytes’ machines were once frequently found in Germany. Source and image rights: General Bytes.
Gideon itself is actually careful. He does not intend to deal with the law for Bitcoin. Because of the ATM, he is not worried. It was set up by the Austrian company Freefall, which works as an official operator. Gideon explains that there is not only the technology behind the machine. Someone has to pick up cash and refill. You can’t just pay the cash that you have taken again. Because if you accidentally accepted counterfeit money, you would possibly put counterfeit money yourself in circulation. So the cash cassettes must be replaced regularly by the operator.
The Blockchain Hotel is just the host. The legal responsibility is entirely with Freefall. The worst thing that fears Gideon is that he has to park the machine. But so far the ATM has not received any negative attention despite the publicly visible location in the Blockchain Hotel, despite the publicly visible location. “The focus of the blockchain hotel is on events and training,” explains Gideon.
Incidentally, the ATM is currently not accessible. Because of Corona, the Blockchain Hotel is closed anyway, and it should stay that way until September because some conversion measures are planned. But in the next few weeks Gideon wants to use the ATM in a nearby furniture store again. The situation is similar with the Room77 in Berlin. The traditional Bitcoin pub also houses one of the first ATMS in Germany, and is also currently closed because of Corona. The owner Joerg Patzer has now set him up on the other side of the street, in the “Hane baked goods”, the “nice and friendly late”. Real-time information about the machines can be found under request1bitcoin.de or the coinatm radar.
Like Bastian Lipp, Gideon Gallasch says that privately operated ATMS in Germany does not have a magnificent commercial future. The legal environment is still too unfavorable for this. But he suspects that a bank will sell bitcoins to machines in the near or medium -sided future. Dozens of banks have already registered as crypto custodians. Since you already have the necessary licenses, it can be very quick that the existing ATMs are enriched with a Bitcoin function.
“We stick to the rules in Germany”
The company Coin Fellows in the Ländle shows that the nationwide operation of Bitcoin machines works. It operates numerous machines: in Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, in Pforzheim, Ulm and Baden-Baden, in Constance, Freiburg, Ravensburg, Sigmaringen and many other places. Some of the machines are in shops for e-cigarettes and tobacco products, but also in fitness shops, burger restaurants or at a hairdresser. They use the machines of the Czech manufacturer General bytes, only support Bitcoin in cryptocurrencies.
The owner of Coin Fellows is at home in Zurich, but the machines from Stuttgart are operated. Tim works there. He doesn’t want to say much about how the company managed to find the way in so many shops in Baden-Württemberg cities within a short time, while the competitors are rather reducing their network. You have a special sales concept that you don’t want to tell the competition.
The turnover, he explains, is not yet so high that the machines are profitable. The business is hard, the profit margins are small. The fees that the machines are throwing off are repeatedly eaten up by Bitcoin’s unpredictable price outlets. Therefore, the company has so far mainly invested in locations, but hopes that it will gradually write black in the coming years.
The regulator is also taking a large cost point. Coin Fellows has commissioned special service providers for this. The company tries to strictly stick to all requirements and therefore also pay attention to the requirements of Bafin. There are clear limits, and if someone changes larger amounts to Bitcoin to euro, for example worth a few thousand euros, Coin Fellows lets you check whether someone uses the system, for example by changing the same or at different machines several times. It is also researched whether the wallets are related to criminal machinations and who they can be assigned.
“We love Bitcoin and are fully behind it, even behind the anonymity,” explains Tim, “but if someone wants to take advantage of it to wash money, he harms us and our other customers. Therefore we protect ourselves against it. Can not like that, but it is one of the reasons why we spread so strongly in Germany, while others are more likely to withdraw.“Coin Fellows is actually the only large operator in this country.
