Just days after Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange platform Mt. Gox shut down due to worries about potential theft, Tembusu Terminals Pte has set up what could be the first automated machine to purchase Bitcoins in Singapore, Bloomberg reported.

Citing a statement from the Singapore-based Tembusu, the Bitcoin ATM was set up at a bar called The Spiffy Dapper located in the district of Boat Quay. The company also said that it is in discussions with other retailers that allow payment in the digital currency to install its Bitcoin machines on their stores. The statement did not mention the names of these retailers, the report said.

In the statement, Tembusu's Chief Technical Officer Andras Kristof said, "I am sure all of us would agree that it has been an exciting, and some would even say trying, past few weeks for Bitcoin users worldwide." However, he said that through the "roller-coaster ride" of events, he couldn't help but contemplate on the "main guiding principle" of flexibility provided by the Tembusu terminal.

According to the statement, the Singapore ATM could potentially dispense cash. To comply with the requirements of local watchdogs, it also offers identity and thumbprint scanning as well as anti-money laundering safeguards, the report said.

Six days ago, Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the Bitcoin is not recognized by the central bank as legal tender. He told Parliament on February 21 that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has "been advising individuals and businesses to think twice and be cautious about accepting or dealing in virtual currencies." Singapore is not the only one that has expressed warning. Some regulators from China to Russia and to the US have pushed for limits or even an outright ban on the digital currency, the report said.

Mt. Gox started suspending Bitcoin withdrawals on February 7 and went offline on February 25, the report said.