The market demand for cryptocurrency ATMs has grown rapidly. Cryptocurrency owners need ATMs to quickly exchange and spend their invested cash when they need to, and the competition between cryptocurrency ATM providers is heating up.
The number of Bitcoin ATMs quadrupled across 2017 according to Statista and is still rising.
The first cryptocurrency ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver in 2013 and, according to data from coinatmradar.com, there are now 3502 Bitcoin ATMs in operation globally.
Over half of current cryptocurrency ATMs support at least one altcoin as well as Bitcoin. 49% offer Litecoin transactions and 32% offer Ethereum. The average fee for using a cryptocurrency ATM transaction is around 8%.
Cryptocurrency ATM makers are thriving, opening up a further new channel for cryptocurrency investors and capital inflow to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Genesis Coin has a 33% share of the ATM market followed by General Bytes at 26%. General Bytes says it has sold 1,700 ATMs in 53 countries, since 2014. EasyBit, founded in 2013, has 60 ATMs in operation.
Coinatmradar estimates new cryptocurrency ATMs are being installed around the globe at a rate of nearly 9 per day. At this rate, there will be nearly 5000 cryptocurrency ATMs in operation by the end of 2018.
The need for cryptocurrency ATMs is driven by cryptocurrency users, some of whom prefer to avoid centralized financial institutions like banks. Other cryptocurrency users are just looking to access tied up assets quickly while on the move. By allowing withdrawals in fiat, from cryptocurrency balances, cryptocurrency ATMs permit exactly that.
Mike Dupree, CEO of ATM makers EasyBit, says his firm is targeting customers already using cryptocurrencies and that building customers outside of this niche is a challenge. Dupree recognizes that the fall in cryptocurrency prices and regulatory concerns affects the market, but predicts:
The beauty of cryptocurrencies is that you don’t have to trust a financial institution to back your wealth. Decentralization is the future, and regulation will eventually fall in line.
In July 2018, Malta saw the installation of its first two way Bitcoin and Litecoin cryptocurrency ATM by Maltese ATM startup Moon Zebra.
Have you used a cryptocurrency ATM? Do you have, or need one, in your town or city?
Image Source: Shutterstock, Statista
