Thieves in Atlanta, Georgia may have made history this week by being the first to steal a Bitcoin ATM in the United States.

The two hooded bandits, one armed with a handgun, entered the Village Smoke Shop on Juniper Street late in the evening Tuesday and immediately approached the Lamassu Bitcoin ATM with one of the suspects unplugging the machine and picking it up before hauling it out the door.

According to local reports, Atlanta Police Department Spokeswoman Elizabeth Epsy said in a statement that one of the suspects fired a shot into the smoke shop’s floor when they were confronted by employees, but fortunately no one was injured.

The Bitcoin ATM, which is used by people to buy Bitcoin by depositing money into the machine, is thought to have only had around $2,000-$3,00 in fiat currency inside of it when stolen as the machine had been emptied earlier that day; the ATM itself is valued at $7,000.

Store employee Amanda McCollum told reporters that the store has seen petty thefts before but Tuesday’s incident was the first time a gun was involved, let alone the Bitcoin ATM.

McCollum went on to say that the shop will likely take measures to beef up security, such as hiring a nighttime security guard, putting bars on the windows, and repositioning and adding additional cameras, however despite a decent turnover from the machine, there are no plans to replace the Bitcoin ATM anytime soon.

Security risk

The theft of the Bitcoin ATM in Atlanta isn’t a world first with two having been stolen in Amsterdam in February this year, but even if incidents so far are few and far between each theft highlights the potential security risks Bitcoin ATM’s deliver.

While there are various different types of Bitcoin ATM’s, it’s the smaller desktop models like the Lamassu that face the most serious risk of being targeted by thieves as per this robbery where the bandits simply walked in, picked it up, and walked out with the entire machine; suffice to say the ease of stealing a desktop Bitcoin ATM is what will without question make them an appealing target to even more thieves in the future.

While big businesses are able to provide secure premises with adequate security for these style of Bitcoin ATMs its smaller businesses who will find the offering more appealing, and therefore be more at risk.

If you do happen to live in Atlanta and may have seen something, the suspects fled the store in a late 1980’s model red Chevrolet Cavalier along with two other suspects east on Linden Avenue from Willow Street.

Image credit: Village Smoke Shop/Atlanta Police