Pompeu Fabra University has installed a Bitcoin ATM on the Poblenou campus as a result of the collaboration agreement with the Catalan company ATMs Bitcoin, which aims to promote experimentation and debate about the digital currency, or cryptocurrency.

UPF wants to use the installation of the ATM to promote reflection concerning the Bitcoin world, because it combines activities both in the technological and in the social fields relating to the use of digital currencies, through areas such as economics, law and sociology.

The agreement states that the company ATMs Bitcoin will be responsible for all financial and legal aspects of the use of the ATM, and the profits generated will be invested entirely in patronage activities and UPF research projects involving undergraduate students.

It is a pioneering experience in Spanish universities that seeks to promote knowledge of digital currency and its implications; "we want to contribute to the debate on how the Internet impacts our lives, for example by offering an alternative transport system such as UBER, a mechanism for sharing accommodation such as Airbnb, or more open, accessible education through MOOCs", explains Miquel Oliver, a lecturer of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC) and the person responsible for monitoring the new initiative. 

During the 2015-2016 academic year, in collaboration with the Barcelona Bitcoin Community , actions will be encouraged on technological, social and regulatory issues concerning the use of cryptocurrencies. Oliver states that "the creation of digital currencies linked to global or local economies is rather due to the need of the citizens than of the institutions and governments that have traditionally regulated this sector", and he reminds us that "the new mayoress of Barcelona has already expressed her willingness for the city to have its own currency".

The activities will be channelled through the DTIC, where the HackLab UPF will play a central role as it is a space for promoting self-learning and the exchange of knowledge and ideas around such topics as technology or communication. They will include, among others, the promotion of initiatives that foment the development of digital currency business models, such as the identification of new uses and the development of applications that improve the user experience.

The University plans to install a second Bitcoin teller machine on the Ciutadella campus after evaluating the results obtained with the first one on the Poblenou campus.

The phenomenon of the Bitcoin, the digital currency

Bitcoin is a digital currency, created and maintained electronically and therefore not printed, as occurs with traditional currencies. It is the first example of a growing category of money known as cryptocurrency. It can be used to purchase electronically, like digital payments that can be made in euros, dollars or any other currency.

The most important feature of the Bitcoin, which sets it apart from conventional money, is that it is completely decentralized, which means that its management is completely distributed on the Internet. The Bitcoin is created digitally through a community of people which anyone can join. So, the idea is a distributed network that also processes the transactions carried out with digital currency.