Welcome • User Guide
ToS • Privacy • Canary
Donate • Bugs • License

©2026 Poal.co

1.1K

It turns out these are more ubiquitous than I originally thought so I figured maybe I would go to one.

I'm not reading anything about buying crypto to deposit directly into offline storage like a Trezor. Is this not possible?

I see them located at gas stations and pharmacies, not banks so much. Are people really bringing thousands of dollars of cash to a shady-ass gas station to do these transactions? Seems pretty dumb to put them there.

Anyway just curious what the experience has been for anyone that actually used one.

It turns out these are more ubiquitous than I originally thought so I figured maybe I would go to one. I'm not reading anything about buying crypto to deposit directly into offline storage like a Trezor. Is this not possible? I see them located at gas stations and pharmacies, not banks so much. Are people really bringing thousands of dollars of cash to a shady-ass gas station to do these transactions? Seems pretty dumb to put them there. Anyway just curious what the experience has been for anyone that actually used one.

(post is archived)

[–] • 1 pt

I've read that you can use gift cards to buy crypto online. Won't provide any link, because I haven't tried myself and believe most of these websites might be scammers.

[–] • 1 pt

Yeah anything with gift cards is too shady.

[–] • 1 pt

I've also read about gift cards and crypto. I've never tried anything like that either, but it works in the opposite way to what you describe, I've heard.

[–] • 0 pt

True.

I did buy gift cards with BTC, a few years ago.

[–] • 0 pt
[–] • 0 pt

I've never heard of that being a problem in real life. Notice the source is Kraken, which of course competes with Bitcoin ATMs...

[–] • 0 pt

I've used one to "withdraw" BTC to fiat. They're very intrusive for needing a lot of information about you.

What kind of pissed me off was the machine and website very clearly said "Withdraw up to $1000 with only a phone number." Turns out that anything past $100 required ID and other rigamarole. I only had $200 and change, so some went to a few websites, and I used two Google Voice numbers (since abandoned) to withdraw the $200 I wanted.

As far as buying, it's the same thing. ID required. You're better off just using Coinbase and moving your crypto somewhere as soon as you get it. It's probably cheaper as well, since the ATMs charge percentages that can approach 9% + fees.

[–] • 1 pt

Yeah I signed up for Krakken and they wanted a photo ID! I didn't provide it and they closed my account 2 days after I opened it. They initially said this was only needed for premium accounts so they are liars too.

[–] • 0 pt

In the USA, at least, it's part of the Know Your Customer laws that banks follow. Long long time ago you could just open a bank account without much info. They wanted an address of course, but that was because there were no online statements.

[–] • 0 pt

I bought Bitcoin using cash at a Bitcoin atm in Baltimore back in 2017. I had a burner phone with a Bitcoin wallet. Best investment I’ve ever made. The fee was something crazy like 18% but still worth every penny.

[–] • 0 pt

Do you keep it in an exchange or offline/cold storage?

[–] • 0 pt

I used a Bitcoin wallet on my phone. Never had any issues.

[–] • 0 pt

yes you can deposit into offline storage. just keep a few addresses from your ledger or trezor on you. ledger will generate new addresses every time you deposit but the old ones still work. but you can just generate one on your phone before you use the atm. i have a nano x and it will connect via bluetooth to your phone. even the nano s i had a short usb cable to use it while i was out and only had my phone.

[–] • 0 pt

Awesome thanks. Nano X is backordered but seems the better choice?

[–] • 0 pt

yea i bought a nano s and then almost immediately ordered a nano x. the s can only fit a couple apps and you'll have to keep deleting and downloading them again to go through your different coins. you can always use a multicoin wallet in the meantime like trust wallet where you get to keep your own private key. metamask is good too. i keep the bulk of my crypto on a ledger and move it through different wallets like trust wallet or metamask or coinbase for some reason or other every now and again. even cash app i send bitcoin through it sometimes usually for direct payments to someone. cash app manages your key though so i don't keep any bitcoin there but its a good way to cash out bitcoin as well. but when i first got into crypto i lost a ton swapping coins back and forth it can become a habit so try not to do it. just buy some coins and hang on to them. keep some coins in a separate wallet for spending. there's places you can buy directly with bitcoin they are popping up more and more.

[–] • 0 pt

Yeah I'm not even trying to make money I just want something that'll hold value better than cash. Whether bitcoin or monero, stablecoin lending I've heard about too.

[–] • 0 pt

oh and dont buy a ledger from anywhere but ledgers website. type in the url to get there yourself doublecheck your spelling. theres modded ledgers out there built to dupe you out of your coin.

[–] • 0 pt

Yep I was reading about that right after your other comment. People are even dumb enough to buy them off ebay apparently.

[–] • 0 pt

Make sure you have good cell signal when you are doing the transaction. I've done it once and I'm in an area that has shitty signal so it took several hours to deposit. Check online for the brand you are trying to use and it should have instructions.

[–] • 0 pt

The ATM’s are the most convenient way to buy anonymously, and the machines are pretty easy to use, but they’re fees are criminally high most of the time. If you’re in a major city I’d highly recommend buying privately in person through Craigslist, or sites like paxful, and search for cash in person. Having a nano S or Trezor tethered to your phone with (for example) my ledger app open, you can deposit right to the wallet. In some of these locations the atm is not in a very discrete location, so if you just want the transaction to go as smooth and fast as possible, just print an address QR code to your wallet at home, and just scan that to deposit, or have your phone open to the QR wallet address before going inside.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

do they have cameras and stuff like regular atms?

[–] • 0 pt

According to that article RCMongler posted some do and some don't. Maybe it'd be better to just steal the ATM instead of using it lol.

[–] • 0 pt (edited )

Nah, you'll need to take an extra step to get it to the Trezor.

Upon further inspection, this is inaccurate.

[–] • 0 pt

I figured that would be too easy. An ATM like that could be easily made it seems.

[–] • 0 pt

No you wouldn't.

[–] • 0 pt

So when you buy BTC through an ATM, where is the BTC sent?

[–] • 0 pt

To the address on the hardware wallet that you type in or scan...