Update: Headline edited to reflect that it was Ether.camp, not Instacoin who developed the hybrid ATM.
Instacoin, which operates Lamassu bitcoin ATMs in Quebec, Canada, has tweeted it is going to support Ethereum.
The tweet announced that Ether.camp has developed a hybrid bitcoin/Ethereum ATM in San Mateo, Calif. The machine is located at Hero City, a co-working space connected to Draper University, just above the offices of Boost.VC. Boost.VC is a venture capital company that invests in blockchain and virtual reality startups.
The ATM has already been used to make a purchase.
To make a purchase, one needs a QR code in one of the following formats:
The Jaxx mobile wallet can create IBAN QR codes and has been tested on the ATM. (Jaxx is a unified platform that provides wallet services for bitcoin and Ethereum users, CCN.com has reported.)
The hybrid ATM project is powered by Ether.camp’s JSON-RPC server and https://github.com/ethereumjs .
The Ether.camp blog includes a video of a one-dollar deposit on the ATM. According a Reddit post , the ATM in the video is a one-way ATM, but there is also a two-way model. (A two-way ATM would allow a withdrawal as well as a deposit.)
According to a LinkedIn post by technology observer John Lilic, Ether.camp is a company led by Roman Mandeleil that has built the Java implementation of Ethereum. Ether.camp has also built an Ether.camp Blockchain explorer that enables navigation of transactions and contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, along with other capabilities.
Lamassu’s open source code offers a direct way to support additional use cases for the ATM such as interacting with smart contracts, according to the Ether.camp blog. A user could pay one dollar to purchase an unknown title in Etheria, buy a dollar-pegged currency, or vote in favor of a resolution in a decentralized autonomous organization.
Also read: Robocoin ATMs can now run Lamassu open source software
Lamassu’s move, for its part, could encourage ATM operators to offer Ethereum, the Merkle noted. Lamassu is the first bitcoin ATM to also support a currency that is not bitcoin.
While the demand for the Ether token is increasing, it is not possible to predict if consumers will seek this digital currency though bitcoin ATMs as well.