The new bitcoin machine was set up in Edmonton – Canada's fifth-largest municipality, the capital of the province Alberta, and one of the fastest growing bitcoin communities in the country.

The ATM installed in Edmonton on 22 January 2016 is the fifth in the city. The operator of the machine is BitNational – one of the top bitcoin ATM operators working in various locations across Western Canada. This hundredth Canadian BTM enables users to convert fiat currency into bitcoin with the 7% fee applied. The maximum amount per operation equals CAD1500.

Edmonton is known for its local community that is well-disposed towards cryptocurrencies. Since 2014 bitcoin enthusiasts there hold CoinFest Edmonton, a free annual event where Edmontonians gather to share knowledge about the cryptocurrency and the technology behind it.

As one of the local bitcoin developers Peter Dushenski puts it, “Edmonton has the fastest growing Bitcoin community in the country. We’re adding businesses faster than any other city. More people are coming to our meet ups than any other city.” He explained this interest from Edmontonians by their grassroots culture “that aligns really well with the grassroots culture of Bitcoin.” In February 2014 Dushenski declared: “No city in the entire world is going to have more Bitcoin kiosks or ATMs than Edmonton.” A the moment, though, the total number of BTMs in Edmonton does not surpass the number of BTMs installed, for example, in Montreal, which is as many as 16.

Coinfox reported earlier that Canada was the country where the first BTM ever was installed: on 28 October 2013 the Robocoin company set it up in Vancouver.

Anna Lavinskaya