If we can get these to accept Monero, it will be the holy grail of ATMs! Monero is borderless unlike the USD and other fiat currencies. If these ATMs can accept Monero, they can be deployed around the world.

I never thought I will see the day of a Goldback ATM, especially now. So is it really a pipe dream for XMR to Goldback ATM?

https://goldatm.com/

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It feels more like a scam than an innovative form of money. I'm not sold on the intrinsic value of a few snowflakes of gold, assuming they are there in the first place.

I've been keeping an eye since the beginning and I can't say I've seen interest growing. Other than the occasional 5 dolar novelty gift, you have to wonder what's wrong with coins? They are easy to verify and way more durable. What is the innovation here? The need to trust an issuer?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

It's likely a choice that was made to add novelty and cater to the American pallet.

It's novel because it's not how it's typically done. It's not done like that normally because they're worse than coins.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Easier to carry in a wallet and use in small denominations. Can be melted back down if you want the gold out of it. I've read about a few small regions in the US where they have gained traction. They've focused on promotion in only a few states and areas from what I understand last I heard about this.

They had more info than I can provide on their site last I checked when I was first told about it and got curious but I haven't kept up with the project. Just sounded interesting to me.

I like more options in the marketplace to compete against and provide alternatives to fiat.

https://www.goldback.com/frequently-asked-questions

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It sounded interesting to me too (initially) don't get me wrong. It can supposedly be melted, it can also get damaged pretty easily and most importantly, there is no way of verifying I'm buying what is being advertised.

The FAQ is all marketing and nothing of value, have a look. The "can it be faked" part gives it all away. There's nothing to do with gold, you trust the company and their "patented technology".

More options are always better, this is not one.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Fair point. I didn't think about how it would be far more difficult to verify using a metalytics scanners and verifiers and such.

And thinking on it more, that the FAQ doesn't provide how one might, like an acid test or something, and that they haven't developed and marketed a home-based way to verify seems like a red flag.

After all, Monero is all about "trust but verify"