Find a COINworKs Bitcoin ATM Near You

What to expect at the machine

A cash purchase takes about five minutes. You scan the receive code from a wallet on your phone, feed in notes, and check the screen before confirming: it shows the rate, the fee in dollars, the Bitcoin you receive, and the address it is going to. Nothing is charged until you confirm, and you can cancel up to that point.

The Bitcoin goes to a wallet you control, not to an account we hold for you, and it usually lands within minutes. You leave with a printed receipt carrying the transaction ID, which is what makes any later question answerable. Keep it.The full walkthrough covers what to bring and what the receipt should say.

Limits and costs, up front

In California a kiosk cannot take or give one customer more than $1,000 in a day. That is state law rather than an operator setting, so it is the same at every machine in the state. California also caps what an operator may charge at the greater of $5 or 15% of the value traded, and requires the receipt to show the spread against a licensed exchange price.

We would rather you knew both numbers before you drive anywhere. There is more ondaily limits and onwhat a kiosk actually charges, including how to work out the true cost of a trade from the receipt.

Trading above the cap, or selling rather than buying, needs a person rather than a machine. That is the over-the-counter desk, and the staffed counters trading asThe Bitcoin Store in San Jose and Stockton, California.