Seattle and Austin to get first U.S. Bitcoin ATMs

With new Bitcoin ATMs being announced on an almost daily basis for cities like London, Vancouver and Singapore, it was only a matter of time before the U.S. got in on the action. If Robocoin has its way, Seattle and Austin will be the first cities in the U.S. to have access to this still-experimental piece of Bitcoin technology. According to a Reuters story posted earlier today, Robocoin expects the ATMs to be up and running by the end of February.

Bast in Las Vegas, Robocoin is one of a handful of companies testing Bitcoin-based ATM technology across the globe. Competition for these new markets is fierce, and rival ATM retailer Lamassu has already sold over 100 Bitcoin ATMs to various locations, but has yet to install a working one in a U.S. location.

Robocoin ATMs already exist in Canada, and there appear to be no U.S. banking or financial policies standing in the way of bringing the ATMs to the U.S. Unclear or hostile regulation of Bitcoin has slowed the release of Bitcoin ATMs in markets like Taiwan and Hong Kong.