Bitcoin ATMs have become harder to defend

A year or two ago, Bitcoin ATMs still seemed worth defending as an option for people who wanted to buy with cash. Fees were already an issue, but having a physical machine nearby had some appeal. The report about Dennis potentially becoming the first Cape Cod town to ban them makes that argument feel pretty thin now.

The buying experience deserves some blame. You're comparing a quoted price with the actual bitcoin price, then trying to work out what you'll receive after fees. For a small purchase, that difference matters. A machine being convenient doesn't excuse making the cost difficult to judge before someone commits cash.

And if something goes wrong, there's no teller standing there to help. Operators need clear receipts and support that's easy to reach. I don't want towns banning a way to buy bitcoin, but I'm tired of defending services whose main selling point is that they're available to people with fewer alternatives