US Gets First Bitcoin ATM

In Austin today, organizers were set to launch the country's first Bitcoin ATM. Similar machines in Boston and Albuquerque allow cash to be exchanged for Bitcoins—but this one also allows the digital currency to be exchanged for cash (although withdrawing cash can take as long as 10 minutes, because the value of the Bitcoins will require market confirmation, KXAN reports). The first-ever Bitcoin ATM was introduced in Vancouver last year; today's is being unveiled at a bar in downtown Austin that's popular with hipsters, just in time for SXSW, which starts March 7. The machine scans users' palms, faces, and government-issued IDs in order to confirm their identities, USA Today reports. (More bitcoin stories.)