Buchman and his business partner, Zach Ramsay, installed the two ATMs to build Bitcoin's profile in the city.

The machine allows for the purchase and sale of Bitcoins using Canadian cash at a current rate of $742 per Bitcoin. The currency can be transmitted to a mobile phone or redeemed from a receipt with a QR code, which, unlike bank accounts, aren't tied to personal information.

Buchman and Ramsay have been in talks with Guelph businesses and said some are interested in adopting the currency, particularly to reduce pricey credit card merchant fees.

"We anticipate huge demand in Guelph and we want to be the first ones there. There are a lot of users that want to spend their bitcoin but there's nowhere accepting them," Ramsay said.

While there are no bitcoin ATMs in Waterloo Region, several startups offer "agent" services where an individual can buy bitcoin by appointment in their home or workplace.

Startup Tinkercoin sold bitcoin up until May over the counter at Waterloo coffee/whiskey bar Death Valley's Little Brother.

Guelph-based organization Ghana Medical Help has taken bitcoin donations since October. Web manager Graeme Lewis said they've received about 50 donations in cryptocurrencies — including Bitcoin's counterparts Dogecoin and Litecoin — from users on social networking sites such as Reddit and Twitter. Those donations have amounted to about $150, which the organization is preserving in an endowment fund.

"It's great for internet commerce because there aren't any geographical barriers. … There's a lot of optimism in the cryptocommunity," Lewis said, adding that he soon hopes to partner with Buchman and Ramsay.

George Bragues, program head of business at University of Guelph-Humber, said in a 2013 university news release that bitcoin has yet to be widely accepted.

"We need to reach a point where the dry cleaner says, 'that'll be three Bitcoins, please,' and we'll pull out our phones with our Bitcoin app — and ultimately walk away with our dry cleaning," he wrote.

"For now, it's really more of an investment vehicle. In order for it to be really taken seriously, it will need to become a consumer goods vehicle as well."

Ramsay and Buchman said they hope to see bitcoin integrated in Guelph within five years.

amigdal@guelphmercury.com