Rambling on about cryptocurrency, convenience-store curiosity, and why I still prefer money I can fold…

The name “Bitcoin” has always sounded less like a financial revolution and more like something you would win from a vending machine at an arcade. Maybe that is why I was not entirely surprised when I first saw a Bitcoin machine sitting against the side wall of a convenience store.

Back in 2020, I worked for a while at a friend’s convenience store. The Bitcoin machine stood there mostly by itself, humming along like it knew a secret the rest of us had not been told. Every so often, a woman would come in and use it to purchase Bitcoin. She seemed to understand exactly what she was doing. I did not.

From the way she explained it, Bitcoin sounded somewhat like a stock investment, though technically it is not stock in a company. Bitcoin is a digital asset that operates on a decentralized network. Transactions are recorded on a public digital ledger called a blockchain, and ownership is managed through digital keys rather than a traditional bank account.

That sounds mighty modern, but modern does not always mean simple. A Bitcoin ATM may allow someone to buy cryptocurrency with cash or a debit card, often by sending it to a digital wallet. Some machines also allow sales or withdrawals. The fees can be high, and transactions are generally difficult or impossible to reverse. That last part matters, because scammers have been known to pressure people into using Bitcoin ATMs to “pay” supposed bills, fines, or emergencies. Once the money is sent, it may be gone for good.

One day, the machine disappeared. No announcement, no farewell, not even a little “Thank you for your business.” It simply vanished from the wall. I never saw the woman again, either. Every now and then, when I hear another story about cryptocurrency, I wonder whether she made money, lost money, or decided the whole business was not as trustworthy as the initial idea seemed…

Bitcoin’s value can rise dramatically, but it can also fall just as dramatically. Unlike money held in a federally insured bank account, cryptocurrency is not protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. If a crypto platform fails, a wallet is hacked, a password is lost, or a transaction is sent to the wrong address, there may be little practical recourse. The value is also not guaranteed by the federal government, and cryptocurrency is not the same thing as legal tender issued by the United States.

As for me, I prefer real money, a bank account, and a little federal protection wrapped around my hard-earned dollars. I understand that banks have their own problems, and no financial system is perfect. Still, there is something comforting about knowing where my money is and having a clear institution to contact if something goes sideways.

Could the world become even more digital? Certainly. We already pay bills, deposit checks, and move money with a few taps on a phone. But the idea of all my funds disappearing into the digital sunset… like that lonely machine on the convenience-store wall… does not exactly make me want to holler, “Sign me up!”

Cryptocurrency may be useful to some people, profitable for some investors, and revolutionary in certain ways. But for those of us who are not wealthy enough to gamble with money we need, caution is not old-fashioned. Sometimes it is simply common sense wearing sensible shoes.