Chicago Now Has 24 Bitcoin ATMs

The city of Chicago, Illinois, now has 24 Bitcoin ATMs thanks to a new company, RockItCoin, which has decided to install four new BTMs in the area, and they will be adding more in the near future.

"RockItCoins' goal is to become the largest player in the Bitcoin foreign exchange space. In Chicago, we will install 10 to 15 machines or even more," said Michael Dalesandro, CEO of RockItCoins.

He continued: “You provide us with your phone number and a valid mailing address, and we send you a verification code. Once you enter the verification code, you can then choose to put your bitcoin into your digital wallet, or use a printed QR code. Once you choose how you want to store your bitcoin, you simply insert the cash, hit send, and then get a printed receipt. With a RockItCoin ATM, the process from start to finish is about 4 minutes.”

The process sounds quick and easy, but “RockItCoin has very high fees (12%) compared to its competitors’ 5% to 7% fees,” said Eric Grill of CoinOutlet.

But RockItCoin will try to lower fees as quickly as possible: “Like every early-adopted technology, costs tend to be high at first, but demand will drive costs and liquidity down over time,” Dalesandro promised.

The four new RockItCoin ATMs were installed at Food N' Fuel gas stations in Frankfort, Lenny's Gas N Go in Kankakee, Flanagan's Grill & Bar in North Chicago, and Sherry's Food Mart in Chicago.

The machines are all one-way, so they can only be bought, not sold, but "we offer both one-way and two-way machines, depending on what the store owner prefers," Dalesandro said.

Illinois seems like a great Bitcoin destination, as the area has a high density of BTMs (over 30, as CoinDesk.com suggests).

In fact, “Illinois has a positive stance on Bitcoin, which is probably why we’re seeing so much in the market. There’s also a very active meetup group,” said Eric Grill, CEO of CoinOutlet.