Charlottesville-based bank says it is the first in the country to allow Bitcoins to be bought and sold using its ATMs – By John Reid Blackwell (Richmond Times-Dispatch) / Feb 10 2021
A Virginia bank says it has become the first commercial financial institution in the country to let users buy and redeem the digital currency known as Bitcoin at its automated teller machines.
Charlottesville-based Blue Ridge Bank announced Wednesday that it now provides access to Bitcoin at its 19 ATM locations, both at its branches and off-site ATMs, in the Piedmont, Southside and Shenandoah Valley regions of Virginia. Later this year, ATMs operated by Virginia Commonwealth Bank – which merged with Blue Ridge Bank this month – in the Richmond region and elsewhere will be able to provide the Bitcoin access.
Blue Ridge Bank’s top executive said he believes the bank is the first in the country to offer the service, and it is doing so in response to what bank officials see as growing demand for Bitcoin, a type of cryptocurrency developed first in 2009 as an alternative to conventional currencies such as the U.S. dollar.
“We try to be forward-looking with what we are doing and anticipate our customers’ needs – both present and future customers,” said Brian K. Plum, the chief executive officer of Blue Ridge Banks and its parent company, Blue Ridge Bankshares Inc.
