Hong Kong, being the closest financial hub close to China, has attracted Bitcoiners from far and wide. On 5/18/14, Hong Kong’s Bitcoiners assembled at Shop 322 at the President Commercial Centre in Mongkok, HK to celebrate the grand opening of the HK Bitcoin ATM Store. The HK Bitcoin ATM Store is now open 24/7/365 in busy Hong Kong for any Bitcoiners to stop by. Robert Lam, the man behind the HK Bitcoin ATM, has been hard at work for over a month to make his grand opening perfect. He hopes that his HK Bitcoin ATM Store becomes more than just a location for users to buy Bitcoin. He hopes that the ATM store will become a gathering point for people to meet and learn about Bitcoin.

HK Bitcoin ATM Store’s grand opening was a great success. Bitcoiners from all over gathered at the HK Bitcoin ATM store to buy bitcoins from the Lamassu Bitcoin ATM. Thanks to the Bitcoin Museum, Lam was able to give free physical Bitcoin coins to attendees that purchased Bitcoin at the ATM. The HK Bitcoin ATM store’s Lamassu is funded by BitCashOut, one of Hong Kong’s longest-running Bitcoin exchanges. Lam has received calls from HK authorities and has been told that his project does not require a money service license. In contrast with HKCEx’s nonexistent Bitcoin ATMs, the HK Bitcoin ATM store is a refreshing real development in the Bitcoin world. Physical locations for Bitcoin meetups are a crucial necessity in the Bitcoin economy. Though the HK Bitcoin ATM store only features a one-way Lamassu Bitcoin ATM, HK Bitcoiners will be able to find bi-directional trading opportunities by networking with fellow Bitcoiners in the area. Lamassu Bitcoin ATMs also stand fully operational in Taipei and Shanghai. On the successful grand opening of the HK Bitcoin ATM store, Robert Lam had this to say:

“HK bitcoin ATM store is very unique. There isn’t anything like this in the world. It is like a Bitcoin education center. I hope we can help to make Hong Kong the Bitcoin Hub of Asia. Today we had Bitcoin people from Macau, Japan, China, Hong Kong and more. I am really happy that I am doing something important like this in my life. “

Dancing Bitcoin Robots

Along with the Lamassu Bitcoin ATM, the HK Bitcoin ATM Store also features two dancing Bitcoin Robots. The Bitcoin Robots can be activated remotely if you send bitcoins to the QR code through the live feed. In effect, any user from around the world can make the Robot dance. If you see someone inside the building, scare them by making the Bitcoin Robot dance! The Bitcoin Robot is able to do 5 distinct dances currently: Happy Birthday Dance, Robot Dancing, Robot Gun Fire, Robot Mini SideKick, and Robot Chest Beating. Depending on the duration, the amount of Bitcoin required to trigger the action varies from 0.001 BTC to 0.005 BTC. The robots have 18 move-able joints and execute some popular breakdancing and kung-fu moves; both are extremely popular among Asia’s younger generations.

Generous Donations From Bitcoin Museum

Along with printed tutorials in both English and Chinese for Bitcoin wallet setup on any device, the pair of dancing Bitcoin Robots, and 24/7 functionality, the HK Bitcoin ATM Store also features exhibits from the Bitcoin Museum. The Bitcoin Museum generously donated gold, silver, and copper physical Bitcoin coins. They also contributed archaic Bitcoin mining rigs so people could see what dedicated mining hardware looks like up close and personal. Also on display from the Bitcoin Museum are 100,000,000,000,000 dollar Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe notes to highlight the inefficiencies of a Fiat monetary system. HK Bitcoin ATM store joins an increasing number of brick and mortar locations for Bitcoiners. More are coming; the future is bright.

More pictures from HK Bitcoin ATM store’s grand opening can be found here.