Prototyping a cryptocurrency vending machine

Every day the cryptocurrency community continues to impress me. Every turn I take some new team is working on a groundbreaking innovation and I just got my chance to be part of the wave.

Hello, I’m Gabriel Mitchell. I own and operate Ethereumclothing.com (Steemit shirts available). I'm an anarchist, a punk and an entrepreneur but most importantly I adore cryptocurrencies. Block-chain technology is and will continue to revolutionize the marketplace. 

Recently I was reached out to by a member of IDEO coLAB’s storefront team to help them on a project. Get this, they’re building a cryptocurrency accepting vending machine. The idea is simple. Vendors send products to the host. A customer selects their favorite products and scans a QR code to send payments. Through a system of Ethereum contracts any time a purchase is made at the vending machine the vendors automatically receive their payments. The customer then gets their products in that moment and everyone wins! In theory, there’s no need for business owners to go through the hassle of banks or 3rd party payment processors. Customers can skip the online shopping and forget about the shipping fees.

As Bitcoin automatic teller machines have been successful it seems to me, and the team I worked with, that cryptocurrency accepting vending machines are the next logical progression. What better way for crypto vendors to sell their products to a wider audience than a localized easy to use POS system? What better innovations to make these transactions easy to handle at a low cost than harnessing the power of Ethereum and block-chain technology?

Imagine, walking through your local mall and seeing cryptocurrency clothing products on a vending machine right next to all the major brands and companies. You could with just the power of your cell phone purchase a Steem, Bitcoin or a Ethereum t-shirt and be walking around with your fresh new shirt in just seconds. Absolutely a phenomenal idea.

As is true with all new technologies we can never really predict where these things will go. It may be too early for a crypto vending machine, It may be too late. Without a doubt though, it’s innovative ideas like this that keep cryptocurrencies strong and i’m pretty excited to say I was part of it.

Pictured is Joe Bernitt who first contacted me about the project and the prototype.