Vancouver Is About to Get the World's First Bitcoin ATM

At some point on Tuesday, the world's first bitcoin ATM will begin exchanging actual cash for the digital currency in downtown Vancouver. Until now, bitcoin has existed – and swooned in value – almost entirely in the ether, in online exchanges and virtual wallets. It's sometimes traded for cash in meet-ups of individual users. But this is the first time the digital currency will get banking's traditional sidewalk interface, right near a neighborhood coffee shop.

The ATM itself, with four more rumored to come elsewhere in Canada, was produced by a Nevada-based company called Robocoin, and it will be operated by a local Vancouver exchange called Bitcoiniancs. Apparently, it's easier to test the concept in Canada than the U.S. Wired explains how it will work: