A former gold mining outfit from Venezuela turned multinational crypto start-up, First Bitcoin, plans to centralise Bitcoin ATM infrastructure across the globe.

First Bitcoin CEO Greg Rubin said that the firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, the first step in providing fragmented Bitcoin ATMs with a new network, reports Coindesk.

Rubin’s plan is to link thousands of ATMs operated by dozens of small operators with a detailed know-your-customer, transaction monitoring and regulatory compliance solution to restructure each aspect of the business.

Rubin stated: “We want to create a consortium of Bitcoin ATM operators and put them on the global ATM network,” adding that the consortium would get underway this year. 

The company has been a highly active player in the cryptocurrency space for a number of years, providing a Bitcoin exchange and ATM services. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a temporary suspension in the trading of its shares back in 2017.

First Bitcoin’s network relies on the company’s recently acquired 2015 patent: “Bitcoin Kiosk/ATM Device and System Integrating Enrollment Protocol and Method of Using the Same,” which came under the firm’s control last summer for 1.6 million shares.

Rubin added that he is not interested in becoming a so-called ‘patent troll’, stating: “We don’t want to send two big Italian guys with baseball bats” to enforce the patent. First Bitcoin will utilise the patent to garner mutually beneficial relationships with operators. The company will charge a flat transaction fee, comparable to ATM charges, with operators fulfilling local compliance and regulatory requirements through its network.

The CEO went on to say that smaller operators will benefit the most from this globalised network: “You cannot continue operating like you’re in the Stone Age with 10 machines. We will be on top of the regulations, we will be on top of security. Your role is just to promote the business.”