Bitcoin ATMs have been around for quite some time now. However, of late - they have been popping up everywhere! There’s a sudden rise in the number of Bitcoin ATMs. While cryptocurrency markets continue to collapse over the past few weeks - the only thing that is booming is the number of Bitcoin ATMs all around the world! Let us take a deeper look at the curious case of the rising number of Bitcoin ATMs.
As of this writing, there are 2177 Bitcoin ATMs all around the world. Interestingly, in 2018, over 135 Bitcoin ATMs have been installed so far. This is happening at an unprecedented speed, as 5 new Bitcoin ATMs are seemingly appearing every day! To think that this is happening at a time when Bitcoin is at a two-month low is quite optimistic. Are the Bitcoin ATM makers installing them before BTC prices rise again? We can’t say for sure.
However, what we can say for sure is that the US is the leader when it comes to the number of Bitcoin ATMs. The country is responsible for over 50% of all Bitcoin ATMs. As of this writing, there are 1296 Bitcoin ATMs present in the US. Interestingly, the number of Bitcoin ATMs in the US has shot up by 30% since October 2017. Cities such as Las Angeles and New York account for a significant number of these ATMs. There are about 165 Bitcoin ATMs in Los Angeles and 127 Bitcoin ATMs in New York!
There’s a major disparity in numbers when you consider the number of Bitcoin ATMs in the country ranked #1 vs those ranked second or third in the number of ATMs. While the US has 1296 Bitcoin ATMs, Canada comes in second with just 340 Bitcoin ATMs. The UK comes in third with 109 Bitcoin ATMs.
It isn’t just about Bitcoin ATMs though. There are a number of other cryptocurrency ATMs which have been coming up. Litecoin ATMs, Ether ATMs, DASH ATMs have also been reported. In fact, out of the 2177 Bitcoin ATMs, 944 of them offer support for altcoins - sometimes even Monero and Dogecoin!
Bitcoin ATMs are rising in popularity because they are an easy and instant way of making deposits or withdrawals. However, what is even more surprising about the growth of Bitcoin ATMs is the fact that they are growing despite high fees! As of now, Bitcoin ATMs (on an average) charge about 9% fees for buying Bitcoins and 7% for selling Bitcoins. Add to the fact that the markets are in disarray at the moment and the prices are falling - the growth of Bitcoin ATMs at this point in time is quite surprising!
The growth of Bitcoin ATMs has been quite positive. While the state of Bitcoin exchanges is quite dismal at the moment, it appears that the real world usage and adoption of the technology is increasing. It is the real-world use case which is going to help cryptocurrencies in the long run and this is indeed a good sign! Have you tried using a Bitcoin ATM yet?
