Most mETHods for purchasing Bitcoin online will link your personal details to the purchase – from exchanges complying with KYC/AML regulations through to the credit card/bank account details used for payment.
One of the easiest ways to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) without revealing your identity is by using a Bitcoin ATM. In this article, we’ll walk you through the procedure of how to use a Bitcoin ATM.
What is a Bitcoin ATM
A Bitcoin ATM (Automated Teller Machine) is functionally similar to the ATMs commonly used to deposit cash into a bank account. A regular ATM will take your cash and update your bank balance with an IOU that you can use to pay others.
With a Bitcoin ATM, your cash is exchanged for Bitcoin, which is deposited directly into your own Bitcoin wallet. It is also often possible to purchase selected altcoins at Bitcoin ATMs, and some outlets will also include the option to sell your crypto for cash.
How To Use A Bitcoin ATM
Prerequisites
First of all, you should already have a wallet to receive the purchased Bitcoin. Otherwise, there are a number of wallets available on Android and iOS devices such as Trust Wallet, and setting it up should take you no longer than a few minutes.
In your wallet app, locate the public address which should be displayed if you tap on a “Receive” button for most apps. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll be using the QR code. If you are using a wallet that supports multiple cryptocurrencies, make sure you have the public address corresponding to the currency that you will purchase (in this guide, BTC).
Locating A Bitcoin ATM
Next, locating a Bitcoin ATM is essential as you’ll need to physically travel to the ATM. Luckily, there’s a handy interactive tool at coinatmradar.com, which helps to locate ATMs. Enter your (nearest) preferred location into the search field to display machines in the local area.
Clicking on any of the pins will display information about the ATM’s location and supported currencies. If you click on “View Details,” you can see price feeds, fee schedules, operator details, and most importantly, ratings from other users.
You’ll probably want to pick an ATM with good recent ratings, that displays owner contact details and provides a price feed as well as a fee schedule. Fake machines exist, so this data should provide you with some confidence as to their authenticity.
Purchasing Your Bitcoins
Upon reaching the destination where a Bitcoin ATM is located, it’s a good idea to have a good look at the machine to see how it all works. All machines will be slightly different in layout (and aesthetic), but the basic functionality will be the same. In this guide, we will refer to the machine pictured below.
On the right-hand side, there is a touchscreen that gives instructions on how to complete a purchase or sale of Bitcoin. It states the current price that the machine is offering for the exchange if you want to sell Bitcoin, and if you want to buy. Along the left-hand side are the slots for depositing and collecting fiat money, a receipt printer, and a QR reader for address input.
Using the touchscreen, select the “Buy” option (keep in mind that we want BTC and not altcoins) by tapping on the right-hand side (the Buy side) of the screen. Different models of ATMs will have a different mETHod for selecting this option, but this is a fairly cosmetic difference, so the “Buy Bitcoin” option should be quite clear.
1. Scan your wallet’s Bitcoin receiving address with the ATM’s QR reader to tell the machine where to send the purchased Bitcoin.
2. Check that the alphanumeric address displayed by the machine is exactly the same as that displayed by your wallet app.
3. Insert your cash into the deposit slot.
4. Set the miner fee that you want to pay for the transaction to be included in a block (note: not all ATMs have this feature). The higher the fee, the sooner it will be confirmed.
5. Finalize the transaction by accepting the purchase.
6. Take the receipt in case of any issues.
This will send the transaction to the Bitcoin network, ending with the delivery of BTC to your wallet. Note that the Bitcoin will not appear immediately in your wallet – it first needs to be added to a block. Generally, six confirmations are required before the transaction can be considered “final.” For the Bitcoin network, a single confirmation time is on the order of ten minutes.
Post-purchase
After the purchase, you can follow the progress of your transaction by using a block explorer for Bitcoin (such as Blockchain.com) with your receiving address or transaction ID as your search terms. Depending on your wallet app, you will see the deposit in your wallet balance after 5-15 confirmations.
There should definitely be at least one confirmation in the first hour. If there are none after a couple of hours, you should contact the ATM owner immediately to see if there’s a legitimate technical reason for the delay.
Closing Thoughts
Bitcoin ATMs offer consumers a simple mETHod for purchasing Bitcoin with cash and now that you know how to use a Bitcoin ATM, you can enjoy that luxury! As a bonus, the Bitcoin purchased will not have been attached to your personal identity through the use of bank transfers or credit cards.
Similar to Foreign Exchange vendors, the vendors of a Bitcoin ATM generally charge a spread on the offered Buy/Sell price relative to the current market price of Bitcoin. Utilizing an online tool like coinatmradar.com can assist with finding a trustworthy ATM with an acceptable fee schedule.
