On Friday, New Hampshire’s new governor Chris Sununu signed a bill, , which makes NH the first state to explicitly protect cryptocurrency like Bitcoin from regulation!This is a historic day and this move clearly positions New Hampshire as the most bitcoin-friendly state in the United States.NH was already the #1 most free state according to the “Freedom in the 50 States” study and this makes it even more free.New Hampshire also now stands in even more stark contrast to New York, the least free state, since New York a couple years ago did the opposite and attacked cryptocurrency businessess with their oppressive “bitlicense”, which drove bitcoin businesses OUT of NY.Now those businesses can escape safely to NH as this just-passed bill offers them a safe haven from the ravaging, destructive effects of government interference.NH’s new cryptocurrency protection language is very simple and clear.It adds an entry to the money transmitter statutes that exempts: Persons who engage in the business of selling or issuing payment instruments or stored value solely in the form of convertible virtual currency or receive convertible virtual currency for transmission to another location.

Liberty Lobby‘s Darryl W Perry, who headed up a campaign to contact the governor about this issue said, “After nearly three years of trying to get virtual currency explicitly exempt from money transmitter laws in the Live Free or Die State, I am happy to see this first major obstacle cleared.” In 2015, a bill (HB 666) was passed that spooked many in the international bitcoin community as it added cryptocurrency to the “money transmitter” statutes.This caused at least one bitcoin business to cease doing business with customers in New Hampshire and quite a bit of buzz about New Hampshire losing its vaunted crytpo-friendly status.How did this happen in a state with the largest concentration of bitcoin enthusiasts per capita?Honestly, we were caught off-guard, but now that’s all changed.In 2016 a state house committee to study cryptocurrency was formed, whose meetings I attended and video recorded.After hearing from multiple NH bitcoiners in the committee meetings, state representative Barbara Biggie stepped up and filed this bill.

As Darryl and I pointed out at the hearing, the bill as filed wasn’t quite what we’d hoped for.It created a new definition and exemption for “virtual currency” in the statutes, but still left in statutes a definition and regulation for “convertible virtual currency”.that this was confusing and they should be striking the regulation for “convertible virtual currency” rather than creating the additional terminology.bitcoin beaconThey listened AND did us one better!bitcoin exchange bot blackhatThe commerce committee amended the bill and turned it into the best possible protection for bitcoin businesses in New Hampshire!ethereum messengerThis is further proof of the effectiveness of the active, growing libertarian migration to New Hampshire, many of whom are bitcoin/crypto enthusiasts.bitcoin gold pendant

Thanks to the liberty activists here, we have several Bitcoin Vending Machines spread across the state, Keene has more bitcoin-accepting businesses per capita than anywhere in the world, crypto meetups happening statewide every week, and now this excellent crypto protection from the state government.Things are only going to get better here and more free as more people who love liberty and cryptocurrency move here.ethereum ibm microsoftIf you’re not already planning your move, you really owe it to yourself to spend an hour and watch this documentary, “101 Reasons Liberty Lives in New Hampshire“.bitcoin farming wikiYou can connect with people who are planning to move and those already here over on the Shire Forum, which has crypto-related subforums.bitcoin mining co op

Please stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest on the cryptocurrency scene here in the Shire.According to our bitcoin ATM industry stats, there is a growing number of bitcoin ATM installations worldwide.If someone wants to run his own bitcoin ATM or install a bitcoin machine at existing local business, what are the main points to check and decisions to make beforehand?The following article tries to answer these questions.ny bitcoin legislationWith all developments in Bitcoin area over last couple of years one thing became more prominent — regulation.asic bitcoin listBitcoin ATM business is not an exception.In many jurisdictions you need to get special licenses like MSB or others in order to conduct such a business.Running a bitcoin ATM without complying with law might end up bad.So the main point to start investigating in case you would like to run a bitcoin ATM — is the legal framework for such activities in your region.

If you are in U.S.— the following two articles written by Aaron Williams could be a good starting point: Bitcoin ATM regulation 101 and 102.Legal framework really depends on your location, so consult with a local lawyer first.While running a bitcoin ATM on your own might require a lot of investment in legal field, e.g.creating your KYC/AML compliance policy, obtaining proper legal licenses, there is still a cheaper way — find existing bitcoin ATM operator in your area, approach and suggest a collaboration, so that you work under their legal licenses umbrella.In order to find operators around you — check our bitcoin machine locations map, for majority of listings operator information is provided.In order to operate a bitcoin ATM you need to have a bank account.There were some ideas to build an “unbanked” bitcoin ATM, however, it is more of a nice to have solution, but not practical nowadays (there are some bitcoin machines with bill recyclers, but no special software available which will dynamically define the buy/sell prices based on cash/bitcoin balances, also local demand is limited, and bitcoin ATM has a very small user-base compared to online services accessible everywhere, which might result in wrong price discovery at particular machine).

By having a buy only bitcoin machine — you definitely will need to organize cash delivery to the bank, and make wire transfers from bank account to exchange in order to replenish bitcoin balance.The reality is that not many banks wish to have customers related to any “bitcoin business”.So it is good to check available options in advance and the best practice to have several relationships to eliminate the potential risk of closing account by one bank.As an example, the bitcoin ATM operator in New Zealand had to close his business due to lack support from bank sector, although the company was compliant with all legal requirements.If you are the owner of a brick-n-mortar business — this is not a question to consider as you probably would like to place it at your location.Placing a bitcoin ATM might increase foot-traffic to your store and this is additional revenue stream for the shop.According to information from other owners who installed a bitcoin ATM, it can increase sales up to 10-30% because of new customers, who come to use a bitcoin ATM.

If you are a local business owner who wants to have a bitcoin ATM, but doesn’t want to have all the hassle with running a machine — you can also approach operators close to you and suggest your location.From private discussions with operators — it is always hard to find a good bitcoin-friendly location, so highly probable you can find someone who will put a bitcoin ATM in your store.However, if you plan to run a bitcoin ATM yourself, you need to find a good location for it.Important factors to consider are: traffic volume, availability/accessibility (easy way to find, public location), open hours (the longer the better), business type.Here is the list of top 5 bitcoin ATM location types according to the stats we collect on the site: So all are mostly high-traffic businesses, where people go daily.The next question is which bitcoin ATM type to chose.There are broad categories like one-way or two-way, for example.So if you would like not only to allow customers to buy bitcoins, but also sell bitcoins then you need to look for a more expensive two-way solutions.

According to the number of installations worldwide — 42% of all bitcoin machines are two-way, and 58% are one-way only.According to information from operators, there is not an even split between buy and sell operations at the moment with pure dominance of buy operations (90% buy vs.10% sell on average).However, during huge price swings, e.g.recent one in October 2015, the user behavior might change a lot.Many operators reported fall in volume of buy bitcoin operations, and sell operations increased drastically (making volume ratio of about 50/50).So not to lose opportunities on the harsh market it is better to provide both options, however, in “normal” times just a one-way bitcoin ATM can provide a steady income as well.We are still in the “enter bitcoin” phase for average Joe.Here is a list of top bitcoin ATM providers on the market at the moment, which can be recommend.All of the providers have a long tracked positive history on the market: Price-wise the cheapest are General Bytes for one-way solution and BitXatm for two-way machine.

However, the features may vary and it is really required to look at all options to choose a proper one that will fit your needs.Robocoin and Skyhook although have a substantial number of installations worldwide are no more recommended due to business risks associated with the companies behind.In order to start new business one needs to do profitability calculation in advance and have at least rough business plan.CoinATMRadar provides a Bitcoin ATM profitability calculator by using which you can easily define approximate costs and calculate ROI with detailed report.There are two blog posts avaialble with more advanced info: theoretical profitability calculations and real examples of how much volume do bitcoin ATMs bring to operators at different locations.The following are average metrics on the market (based on discussion with operators): So to set it up probably some average values can be used initially.In order to attract users operators might suggest lower rates, sometimes even 0% commission.