Spanish police are investigating the theft of a ‘bitcoin ATM’ in a raid on a cryptocurrency trade outlet in a rich Barcelona neighbourhood, native media reported on Friday.
Bitcoin ATMs permit clients to buy cryptocurrency utilizing money or a debit card, whereas some additionally let customers to trade their crypto holdings for money.
In response to knowledge from the Coin ATM radar web site, which tracks the placement of crypto ATMs, Spain has 158 such machines, the very best quantity in Europe.
Catalonia’s Mossos d’Esquadra police pressure stated an ATM had been stolen at round 3 a.m. and declined to supply any extra data to keep away from hindering the investigation.
Citing police sources, EFE information company stated thieves took the bitcoin ATM from a store on Beethoven avenue within the Sarria space, house to a department of the GBTC cryptocurrency trade.
GBTC didn’t return a number of requests for remark and the police declined to substantiate the precise location of the theft.
An unverified video purporting to indicate the crime confirmed an SUV ramming into the closed shutters of the GBTC storefront earlier than half a dozen or so individuals in hoods carried the money machine right into a second automobile ready on the road.
One of many assailants sprayed a fireplace extinguisher at onlookers as the 2 vehicles sped off into the night time.
