A North Carolina company is currently scouting locations around Charleston to install one of the first ATMs in the nation that allow customers buy and sell the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
Southeast Bitcoin, a North Carolina company that says it is the only of its kind in the region, demonstrated their Bitcoin ATM at Dig South on Thursday. The company’s co-founder and owner Trey Morrison says that similar ATMs, built by a company called Robocoin, have seen success in Vancouver, Canada since they were installed late last year.
Southeast Bitcoin says South Carolina will be the location of its first Bitcoin ATM because of the state hasn’t adopted the same electronic currency transfer regulation as many other states. The company hopes to install the kiosk, which resembles a standalone ATM with a few other scanners and a larger screen, in a couple local coffee shops that they’ve talked with or near the Charleston City Market.
Coincidentally, a case originating in Charleston marked the first federal seizure of Bitcoin in the U.S. when a 31-year old Charleston man had 11.02 Bitcoin (worth about $800 at the time) seized after agents said he was illegally selling prescription drugs over an online black market. The City Paper wrote about the case and the overarching controversy around Bitcoin in a September cover story.
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