Italy’s
first Bitcoin ATM was a Lamassu machine, installed in Udine,
a northeastern city nestled between the Alps and the Adriatic
Sea.
(
CoinTelegraph) That’s wine country, and you would need plenty of it to wash
down the stuffed gnocchi.
The machine’s owner, Luca Dordolo, is often nearby to assist
anyone who needs help using the machine (it’s
located in the hall of his family’s business).
He’s even had the interface translated into the local Friulian language, as
well as Italian.
Dordolo’s vision is to create an Italian hub for
Bitcoin, and
his next step at this point is to install more machines around the country.
Obstacles, both legal and cultural, are making this difficult,
though.
Legal Obstacles
First, Dordolo laments the “lack of relevant legislation” in Italy
regarding Bitcoin, forcing him to operate in a grey area with which many
Bitcoin entrepreneurs are familiar.
Before buying that first Lamassu ATM, Dordolo said he had a
pool of attorneys and legal experts advise him on what he could and could not
do. Italy,
they told him, does not regulate Bitcoin itself, nor are there any
know-your-customer regulations, but any transactions above 999.99 EUR need to
be reported.
So, that was the limit he set.
Here is what
BitLegal says about Italian legislation:
“The use of electronic
currency is restricted to banks and electronic money institutions — that is,
private legal entities duly authorized and registered by the Central Bank of Italy.
Aside from these developments, Italy
does not regulate Bitcoin use by private individuals, and currently the
implementation of initiatives concerning the use of electronic currencies lies
with the EU.”
Dordolo is not confident Italian law will catch up with the
technology.
“Banca d’Italia is
studying the [Bitcoin] phenomenon, and perhaps — if they were fast — in 10-20
years we could have a law on it.”
Cultural Obstacles
Dealing with murky Italian laws is one thing. Dealing with
local perception is something else entirely, Dordolo said.
“In Italy, we are at the beginning of
Bitcoin’s spreading among the population. There is an interesting Bitcoin
community [in Italy],
but it is still very hard to explain to Italian people the real value that
Bitcoin creates in the economy and the job opportunities it creates.This is because of
misinformation by the national media that actually regard it as a scam or worst
as associated with criminal deeds.Even the local Bitcoin
Foundation is not as active as it should be, so whatever can move this
situation is welcome.”
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One thought on “The difficulty of getting Bitcoin to catch on in Italy”
Tabatha simaPosted on 8:35 am - Aug 5, 2014
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