LOWER EAST SIDE — Cash-strapped New Yorkers have long turned to bodegas for ATM machines. Now, a Delancey Street deli is offering a similar service for Bitcoin users.
The Lower East Side’s first Bitcoin ATM (BTM) — installed by a company called CoinSource —first began selling units of the digital currency Monday at N&N Delancey Smoke Shop, located at 61 Delancey St., as first reported by EV Grieve.
“CoinSource is excited to expand our network to the Lower East Side at 61 Delancey Street,” CoinSource Managing Partner, Sheffield Clark, said in a statement sent to DNAinfo New York. The company also opened a BTM at Whitehall Terminal and operates other machines throughout the country.
The BTM allows users to purchase Bitcoin using cash, which is then transferred electronically to their accounts. CoinsSource collects a 7 percent fee for each transaction, although large purchases and high-volume customers can get reduced fees, the company said in a press release.
The machine is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Clark said the company chose the deli because of its proximity to multiple subway lines as well as the Williamsburg Bridge.
“Not only do we have the opportunity provide the LES and the East Village with a convenient, low fee ATM, but we can service demand from parts of Brooklyn as well,” he said.
There are about 15 BTMs run by multiple companies citywide, according to a CoinSource spokesman.
Although the currency is still in its early stages, some businesses in the neighborhood and across the city have begun accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment.
N&N Delancey Smoke Shop, however, is not one of them, according to an employee.
