Category: Bitcoin ATM

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El Salvador to Launch 1,000 Bitcoin ATMs for Purchase and Sale of BTC

El Salvador is leading Bitcoin adoption in Central and South America, declaring it will launch 1,000 Bitcoin ATMs across the country for buying and selling BTC.

The 1,000 new Bitcoin ATMs will be installed by Athena Bitcoin, which has established a strong presence in the Bitcoin ATM market and currently operates across the US, Colombia, Argentina and El Salvador.

Ceremonial launch of Athena’s Bitcoin ATMs. Source: Athena Bitcoin

Earlier this month, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognise Bitcoin as legal tender. President Nayib Bukele stating that his country is “adopting Bitcoin for the benefit of the people“. Bukele, who many see as a revolutionary, also announced plans for a volcano-powered Bitcoin mining facility.

The Rise of Crypto ATMs

Chainbytes, another crypto ATM company, is also keen to get in on the action. It recently announced that it wants to “make El Salvador the manufacturing hub of Bitcoin ATMs for all of the Americas”.

There are approximately 22,000 crypto ATMs operating in the world today. ATM installations have increased by over 10,000 in the past year alone. These numbers seem to be a reliable barometer for worldwide crypto adoption.

Source: Coin ATM Radar

In Australia, Bitcoin ATMs do exist but are very rare, and almost non-existent outside of the capital cities. But as worldwide crypto adoption surges forward, access to crypto ATMs in Australia should increase as well.

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Companies Plan Rollout Over 10,000 Bitcoin ATMs to Gas Stations Across the USA

Hudson Yards, NYC

As of January 2021, there are approximately 17,000 bitcoin ATMs worldwide, with this number set to continue increasing as 10,000 more are planned to rollout in the USA this year.

Bitcoin ATMs Are Targeting Gas Stations

According to Coin ATM Radar there are Bitcoin ATMs in every single state except for Alaska and Washington D.C.

Bitcoin ATM Example

Las Vegas-based Coin Cloud has 1,470 machines around the United States and expects to have over 10,000 by year-end, said CEO Chris McAlary.

Another ATM supplier based in Chicago, CoinFlip, apparently increased their ATM count from 420 last year to 1,800 now. CoinFlip CEO Daniel Polotsky also said that during the same time transactions per ATM increased nearly three times.

The demand has been so high that General Bytes, a major Bitcoin ATM manufacturer, temporarily ran out of stock last summer. The company sold 3,000 machines last year, 90% of which went to North America, said founder Karel Kyovsky.

Australia is Lagging Behind In The Bitcoin ATM Game

Australia has around 54 Bitcoin ATMs nationwide, which is considerably less than most other major countries. Most of these are located in Melbourne in shopping centres. Will we see Australia follow the USA’s lead and install Bitcoin ATMs in gas stations such as Coles Express, Caltex, BP and even 7-Eleven?

ATMs Provide Easy Access to Cryptos

One of the major drivers for the increase of these ATMs is the growing sentiment toward Bitcoin (BTC). The average punter may find it easier to use an ATM to buy Bitcoin than buying it online. There is also the added benefit of being able to buy Bitcoin with cash at an ATM.

Aside from the strict Bitcoin only ATMs there are others that allow you to buy various other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH) and some even allow you to buy Dogecoin (DOGE).

Source: How many bitcoin atms

One of the main disadvantages of using these machines rather than transacting online is that the fees are usually much higher. The majority of these operators ask more than 10% transaction fee, whereas online you wouldn’t often be looking at something over 2-3% depending on your transaction size.

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Retail Traders Levelling the Bitcoin Playing Field: JP Morgan

According to research by strategists at leading U.S. financial investment bank, JP Morgan Chase, Bitcoin (BTC) retail investors have out bought institutions this quarter (Q1 2021), picking up the slack and helping drive the price of Bitcoin to $61,000.

The decline in institutional buying may be one of the reasons the price didn’t hold, as well news about India’s policy regarding cryptocurrencies which is said to have hit the token hard.

Increased Interest From Retail Traders

According to Chainalysis, in 2017, the majority of Bitcoin buyers were retail investors purchasing the cryptocurrency using personal funds. However, 2020 saw a change as mainstream companies and financial institutions were buying up most of the Bitcoin due to macroeconomic uncertainty.

As seen in the breakdown below retailers bought more BTC in Q3 2020 and Q1 2021 than Wall Street buyers. According to the data, itBit daily volumes (which the bank uses as a proxy for PayPal) nearly doubled between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021. Meanwhile, bitcoin payments facilitated by Square also doubled.

Table shows a breakdown of bitcoin flows since 3Q 2020.
Source: JPMorgan

Bitcoin’s latest rally meant that it is up by 100% since the start of the year and more than 500% over the past six months. The indicator for CME Group only inched up slightly from 1,284 to 1,449.

Growing Interest in Bitcoin

BTC Net Growth: glassnode

Now, with the Reddit-fueled meme stock craze cooling and novelties such as digital artwork setting records, retail traders — some now armed with $1,400 stimulus checks — are taking control.

Senior market analyst at Oanda Corp, Ed Moya

Brian Vendig, president of MJP Wealth Advisors, stated that retail need has actually been driven by fear of losing out (FOMO) following the current wave of institutional financial investment into Bitcoin.

More Opportunities for People to Learn, Own, and Transact with Crypto

As reported by Reuters Bitcoin ATMs have been increasing in numbers across the U.S. and Bitcoin’s growing popularity has been a major driver for these new installations (more than 10,000 in the last five months).

Source: Piqsels

The influx of retail buyers might be due to increased exposure through social media, celebrities championing crypto related technologies, NFTs, and simpler technologies that facilitate the acquisition of crypto. When individuals are well-informed they are more likely to participate.

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Auscoin Founder’s Bail Conditions Relaxed

In 2019, Auscoin founder Sam Karagiozis was arrested for suspected drug trafficking. In mid-2019, he was granted bail, but on certain conditions – such as a nightly curfew.

Mr. Karagiozis – a native of Bulleen, is currently on bail on a $600,000 surety and must check in with the police twice a week. He is also forbidden to leave Victoria.

Sam Karagiozis, an entrepreneur who even tattooed “Self Made” on his fingers was well on his way to accumulating ever-greater fortunes – before legal troubles forced his crypto platform Auscoin to halt its activity.

Auscoin was a crypto exchange platform with plans to install bitcoin ATMs across the country. However, the amount of Bitcoin ATMs that were actually installed was far less than predicted, due to a lack of funding.

The company also minted crypto tokens, namely AUSC – which are currently valued at around 0,0077 AUD per token.

Conditions Lessened For A Hopefully Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience

On Tuesday, Mr. Karagiozis’s bail conditions were relaxed, citing the need to administer his chain of Greek restaurants – and the wish to attend his brother’s wedding as the best man, as well as the buck’s night taking place 2 weeks prior.

Defence counselor Dermot Dann obtained the loosening of Mr. Karagiozis’s bail restrictions, stating that Mr. Karagiozis had complied with all bail conditions to date and that his client was eager to attend what would  “hopefully be a once-in-a-lifetime event”.

Furthermore, Sam Karagiozis is expecting a child in April and hopes to avoid any possible legal troubles that may arrive from having to drive to a hospital past curfew.

Magistrate Andrew McKenna granted the request despite the opinions of detractors present in court – on the condition that Mr. Karagiozis will not be allowed to talk to co-accused Victorian police officer Emmanuel-O’Neil about the upcoming court hearing.

“They can talk about how wonderfully well the night is going or the weather or the pandemic, but nothing about the proceedings.”

The hearing will take place in March – and will determine whether the pair will face trial or not.