This company lets you buy bitcoin from an ATM. Fresno now has two

Dom Garrett is buying bitcoin.

Or, rather .000530 of a bitcoin, the equivalent of $5 minus a 10% transaction fee.

And he's doing it from a touchscreen ATM machine inside a cellular repair shop on Ashlan Avenue in central Fresno. The machine, operated by Washington state-based company Coinme, is an easy way for people to get into the digital currency, "bit by bit," says Garrett, Coinme's Director of Marketing.

He's well aware of the pun.

This is the second ATM that Coinme has in Fresno. The first was installed in September at the CellPros shop on Olive Avenue in the Tower District. This second unit, inside the CellPros at Ashlan and Marks avenues, is part of a recent expansion for the company.

Currently, Coinme operates 48 machines across the United States, in major markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle, but also in places like Yakima, Wash. (where bitcoin owners hold weekly meetups) and Fresno.

"The demand for another one was really high," Garrett says.

Right now, the ATMs are buy only. They look and work much like traditional ATMs, only in reverse. Users insert an ID card and cash (anywhere from $1 to up to $2,500) and the equivalent bitcoin is purchased and placed in a digital wallet (hosted and secured by Coinme), where it can be used anyplace that accepts bitcoin (for instance: Overstock and Expedia).

Within the next few weeks, ATMS will be updated so that users can buy and sell. Meaning, users can exchange their bitcoin for U.S. dollars.

"It seems crazy now," Garrett says.

Imagine what it was like when the company installed its first ATM in 2014.

"A lot of people didn't understand it," he says.

And many still don't, even as bitcoin has become the world's most popular virtual currency.

"There's just a lot of misinformation out there," Garrett says.

"Or lack of information."

Also known cryptocurrency, bitcoin uses encryption techniques to regulate and verify the transfer of funds.

"Such currencies are not tied to a bank or government and enable users to spend money anonymously. They are basically lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they are traded," according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.

Bitcoin has been around for the better part of a decade, though it has been in the news the past few years as people began really using and investing in the currency. At one point last year, one bitcoin was worth more than $19,000. At the start of 2017, it was worth $1,000.

As of Garrett's transaction, one bitcoin is worth close to $10,000 – $9,428.56 to be exact. The number is listed on the ATM's touch screen and is updated automatically every 60 seconds based on the market. A minute later, the number is up to $9.434.70. Then, it falls back down a few dollars.

"Having a physical presence like this eases things some. Even as bitcoin moves into the mainstream, it lacks the markings of traditional currency (tangible money, brick-and-mortar banking). That can be can be scary," Garrett says.

This story was originally published May 11, 2018 at 3:56 PM with the headline "This company lets you buy bitcoin from an ATM. Fresno now has two."