Bitcoin ATM Ripped Off by Thieves From Barcelona Crypto-Store

Bitcoin ATMs allow customers to purchase cryptocurrency using cash or a debit card.

By Reuters | Updated: 13 November 2021 11:18 IST

Bitcoin ATM Ripped Off by Thieves From Barcelona Crypto-Store

Highlights

Spain has 158 such machines, the highest number in Europe
Bitcoin ATMs allow customers to purchase cryptocurrency
Some ATMs also let users exchange their crypto holdings for cash

Spanish police are investigating the robbery of a 'Bitcoin ATM' in a raid on a cryptocurrency exchange outlet in a wealthy Barcelona neighbourhood, local media reported on Friday.

Bitcoin ATMs allow customers to purchase cryptocurrency using cash or a debit card, while some also let users to exchange their crypto holdings for cash.

According to data from the Coin ATM radar website, which tracks the location of crypto ATMs, Spain has 158 such machines, the highest number in Europe.

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Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra police force said an AfTM had been stolen at around 3 a.m. and declined to provide any more information to avoid hindering the investigation.

Citing police sources, EFE news agency said thieves took the Bitcoin ATM from a shop on Beethoven street in the Sarria area, home to a branch of the GBTC cryptocurrency exchange.

GBTC did not return multiple requests for comment and the police declined to confirm the exact location of the robbery.

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An unverified video purporting to show the crime showed an SUV ramming into the closed shutters of the GBTC storefront before half a dozen or so people in hoods carried the cash machine into a second car waiting on the street.

One of the assailants sprayed a fire extinguisher at onlookers as the two cars sped off into the night.

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