Andreas Antonopoulos Thinks Bitcoin ATMs Need to Be Completely Redesigned

Mastering Bitcoin Author Andreas Antonopoulos recently gave at talk at Harvard’s i-lab, spending much of his time in front of a small audience describing the various issues with Bitcoin as a brand. He noted many problems with the terminology used in Bitcoin, and he also focused on specific products or services in the Bitcoin space that seem to be doing a disservice to potential users.
At one point during the presentation, Antonopoulos turned his attention to Bitcoin ATMs, asking the audience how many of them had used one of the machines in the past. While a few people raised their hands, those hands went down when Antonopoulos then asked how many of them enjoyed their experience with the Bitcoin ATM.
How Traditional ATMs Work
To explain the user experience issues with Bitcoin ATMs, Antonopoulos first talked about the setup of traditional bank ATMs:
‘When you interact as a person with an ATM, 1. you have a pre-existing relationship with the bank or financial institution; 2. you have a pre-existing balance; 3. your primary objective is to get in, get cash, [and] get out. Twenty seconds is too long. Three clicks is too long.’

This post was published at Bitcoin Magazine on AUGUST 29, 2015.

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