Robocoin 2.0 Arrives With Bank-Like Features and New Hardware

Dan Palmer | Published on June 10, 2014 at 13:02 BST | Bitcoin ATM, Exchanges, Technology

Bitcoin ATM provider Robocoin enters a new phase of its growth today with the announcement of ‘Robocoin 2.0’, featuring a totally new software platform, alongside improved hardware and extra features aimed at the global banking and remittance markets.

With the announcement, the Las Vegas-based manufacturer takes a big step toward towards its previously stated ambition to make bitcoin more user-friendly for mass-market consumers and its aim to provide financial services for the world’s underbanked.

Bitcoin ‘banking’

Repositioning itself more as a bank with ‘branches’ instead of ATMs, Robocoin is offering a variety of online accounts for merchants, brokers and general customers.

Allowing users access to the company’s machines in all of the 13 countries it currently covers, Robocoin accounts also feature integral bitcoin wallets, removing the need to use wallet QR codes or addresses when depositing or withdrawing.

With public confidence in centralised bitcoin companies at a low following notable collapses like Mt. Gox, the company insists that customers’ bitcoins are “securely stored” in a Robocoin wallet “built on industry leading multi-sig architecture with 100% provable reserves and offline cold storage”.

Another issue that has plagued users of both bitcoin ATMs and merchant point-of-sales systems is the potentially long wait while transactions are confirmed on the block chain. Robocoin now sidesteps this issue completely by taking transaction off-block chain, promising that ATM customers can access their accounts and “get cash and bitcoin instantly”.

Global payments

The company’s ATMs accept and dispense 12 national currencies worldwide and can now be used to send money to anyone using only their phone number or email address, even if they haven’t signed up for a Robocoin account. Recipients need merely to visit the local ‘branch’ to pick up their cash.

With traditional remittance providers such as MoneyGram and Western Union currently reaping vast profits in transfer fees – estimated at around $500bn a year – such a service could see significant savings for workers sending money back home to families.

Even with the relatively low fees that will likely be offered, this is a lucrative market that Robocoin and bitcoin exchanges such as Bitex.la and Coincove hope to tap into.

“Our goal is to make storing and sending money faster, friendlier, cheaper and easier than any other company in the world,” said Jordan Kelley, Robocoin’s CEO, adding:

“Robocoin is expanding the bitcoin market by making it easier. No more downloading a digital wallet, storing a private key, or remembering public addresses. New technology and terminology mean secure deposits, instant withdraws, and the easiest way to send money worldwide.”

The hardware

Along with its announcement of its new platform, Robocoin has also announced a slashed price on its standard bitcoin ATM, plus two new machines with extra features to facilitate security and speedy transactions.
Having reached new scale milestones and improved its supply chain, the company has now dropped the base price for its Robocoin Classic unit from $20,000 to $15,000, while reassuring operators that its ATMs are still made with “top-of-the line, bank-grade hardware”.

Robocoin is also launching a range of ‘recycling’ ATMs, which feature the ability to dispense the cash they accept.
This, in turn, reduces the need for frequent restocking and the security risks involved with regularly handling cash in a public-facing premises. The new hardware handles notes more quickly, further speeding up customer transactions.
The company’s $20,000 base model, the Robocoin Recycler, can accept two bills per second and can dispense at a rate of 1.6 notes per second. In addition, it can hold up to 1,900 notes, the company said.
Its premium counterpart, the Robocoin Recycler Max ($35,000) provides a 100-note batch acceptor and can accept and dispense at a “market-leading” rate of eight bills per second. It can hold 8,300 notes and recycles 6,000 with three different denominations, Robocoin claims, adding that this is the most premium bitcoin ATM in the world.
Robocoin ATMs employ biometric authentication technology, as well as phone and PIN authentication, to protect user accounts and where necessary comply with anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations.
Competitor Lamassu promises bitcoin-to-fiat transactions in under 15 seconds, and currently accepts notes from 200 countries worldwide, though its units are only one-way.

Facebook Approves First Cryptocurrency Tipping Apps

Nermin Hajdarbegovic | Published on June 6, 2014 at 11:27 BST | Altcoins, Dogecoin, Lifestyle, News

Facebook has approved two new cryptocurrency tipping apps, according to the small team of dogecoin enthusiasts that developed them.
Lead developer Alejandro Caballero announced on reddit that the social networking giant has approved both his Doge Tipping App, which is restricted to dogecoin, and his Multicoin Tipping App, which got the official nod just this morning.
The latter allows 14 altcoins to be used to reward posts on Facebook in a very real sense, rather than merely giving them the standard ‘like’. The full list reads: dogecoin, digibytes, einsteinium, fedoracoin, mintcoin, reddcoin, quark, worldcoin, vertcoin, karmacoin, earthcoin, trollcoin, HTMLcoin and donationcoin.
This is not the first time digital currencies have appeared on Facebook. CoinDesk reported last month on QuickCoin’s wallet app that allows users to send bitcoin to anyone on their contacts list as simply as messaging. However, the new apps look to be the first dedicated tipping services on the platform.

‘Double hit’

“When we submitted the doge-only app, the Multicoin Tipping App was also submitted. But we needed to change several things to have it finally approved, which happened a few minutes ago,” said Caballero.
He described the approvals as a “double hit” and said the team is now bringing new coins to the big field “in the most pure spirit of shibing” – a reference to the Shiba Inu dog breed mascot of the dogecoin community.
The dogecoin community responded in kind, with abundant Comic Sans praise and a few dogecoin tips for Caballero and his team.

Limitations still exist

Using the world’s biggest social network as a payments platform is not a new concept, but getting approval and weaving around Facebook’s restrictions has proven tricky.
Although Facebook has now approved the apps, there are a few limitations users should be aware of. Notably, the apps can only be used to make tips in an approved group, but groups can be added and practically any Facebook user can be tipped.
Caballero explains:

“Tipping through the apps work from Facebook Groups, but once you joined one of them, you can send tips to every person existing in Facebook, from your friends list or not. We add groups on request. This way of working is the reason the apps where approved, because they promote social interaction without messing with user’s preferences or security.”

Caballero’s team has big plans aside from Facebook and is currently working on a universal tipping platform for WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Xenforo, PHPBB and others.
Dogecoin is already a popular medium for tipping popular content producers, but has been restricted largely to platforms like reddit. The new Facebook apps could see the phenomenon take off with a much larger audience.

Rapper 50 Cent Accepts Bitcoin for New Album ‘Animal Ambition’

Stan Higgins | Published on June 3, 2014 at 17:05 BST | BitPay, Companies, Events

Business mogul and hip-hop star Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has joined the growing number of musicians and entrepreneurs who are embracing bitcoin by accepting the digital currency as payment for his new album, ‘Animal Ambition’.
50 Cent’s Shopify store will accept bitcoin payments for the new release, with BitPay acting as the payments processor. Shopify first integrated payments for its network of merchants in November 2013.

The development brings a prominent face to the bitcoin community. In addition to being a successful rap artist and producer, Jackson is a notable entrepreneur, having invested in Glaceau – the makers of Vitaminwater – in a deal that would eventually propel his net worth toward $140m.
Tony Gallippi, BitPay’s executive chairman, hailed the announcement by saying:

“We are excited to see high profile independent artists use bitcoin and 50 Cent’s trail as an innovator is outstanding.”

Jackson has also sold more than 30 million records to date, with hit albums including ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’’, ‘Curtis’ and ‘Before I Self Destruct’.

The release follows Jackson’s decision to leave longtime label Interscope Records in February to work with distributor Caroline, part of the Independent Services division of Capital Records.

Bitcoin’s latest entrepreneur

Most famous for his investment in Glaceua, which later sold to beverage conglomerate Coca-Cola for $4.1bn, 50 Cent has also engaged in other notable investments over the years.
In 2013, he took another chance on the beverage market, launching Street King energy shots, which currently holds the number two market share in the $2bn annual industry.
Given Jackson’s noted activism as an investor, it’s possible that the move signifies the rap star’s larger interest in digital currencies. For example, by accepting bitcoin as payment for copies of ‘Animal Ambition’, the venture provides Jackson with an interesting way of accruing BTC.
BitPay’s relationship with Shopify allows merchants to receive dollars, bitcoins or a combination of the two. It isn’t clear which direction Jackson plans on taking the store in this regard.
CoinDesk reached out to Jackson’s representatives for more details, but was unable to receive immediate comment.

More artists embracing bitcoin

Jackson isn’t the only music artist to embrace bitcoin for record sales.
In December 2013, Snoop Dogg (also known as recently as Snoop Lion) expressed interest in taking bitcoin for his next record, though to date he hasn’t taken an formal steps toward this decision. At the time, he hinted that the record would be “available in bitcoin and delivered in a drone”. Later, Snoop had a public exchange with Coinbase via Twitter about the idea, saying that “I want to make it happen”.
Former Spice Girl Mel B followed suit later that month, expressing interest in the digital currency for her then-upcoming single. She remarked that she was excited about the possibilities contained in consumer-leaning innovations like bitcoin, saying:

“I love how new technology makes our lives easier, and to me that’s exciting. Bitcoin unites my fans around the world using one currency. They can just pay using bitcoins!”

At the time, Donald Glover, a comedian who goes by the hip-hop moniker Childish Gambino, also suggested that he might accept bitcoin for his upcoming music project.
Beyond payments, other hip hop groups have experimented with the digital currency as a means of generating income. In March, Ain’t No Love launched their second EP, ‘Tears of Joy’, and paired the release with a bitcoin-friendly torrent publication on the FrostWire platform.
Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPay.
Image credit: cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com