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[Reuters]- Recently, new machines appeared in tobacco stores in Montana, USA, at gas stations in North Carolina and South Carolina, and in delicatessens in New York City. It’s a brilliantly brilliant Bitcoin ATM. Customers can buy and sell digital currencies at this ATM and sometimes withdraw cash.
Bitcoin ATMs have grown rapidly in the United States over the past year. The background is that crypto asset (virtual currency) trading has heated up and the price of Bitcoin has skyrocketed to more than $ 58,000.
Every ATM operator, such as Coin Flip and Coin Cloud, has installed thousands of ATMs so far. Executives told Reuters they were looking for areas where rivals did not yet have ATMs.
“I thought there was demand and people would be looking for Bitcoin everywhere,” said Mark Shoiket, founder of Bitcoin ATM operator Quadcoin. He flew to Montana as a result of squashing undeveloped areas on a map of the United States.
Therefore, I identified 7 places where I would like to install ATMs on the road of travel for a week. One of them is the “406 Glass” tobacconist in Billings, Tong. In addition to cigarettes, the store sells e-cigarette liquids and colored glass pipes.
According to independent research site Howmany Bitcoin ATM.com, the number of Bitcoin ATMs installed in the United States reached 28,185 in January this year. About 10,000 of them were installed in the previous five months.
The main driving force behind the expansion of the facility is the growing popularity of Bitcoin.
There are many motivations for people choosing to use ATMs instead of online transactions, such as withdrawing cash, not having a bank account, overseas remittance methods, or a desire to remain anonymous. Some people say that it is safer to use a real machine.
Bitcoin investor Rebecca White, 51, who lives in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania, makes large investments online and uses Bitcoin ATMs to invest when households have a little extra cash.
“Our family stops at Bitcoin ATMs when they go to buy fresh food and they have $ 60 left,” he said.
Some of these ATMs only handle Bitcoin, while others can invest in various digital currencies. There are very few Bitcoin ATMs that can actually withdraw cash, and the fees are higher than normal ATMs and online transactions.
Fees range from 6% to 20%, depending on the region and the ATM operator, according to Pamela Craig, head of research and financial education at CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency compliance service.
Craig says the expansion of the Bitcoin ATM market is “staggering.”
Government agencies have warned about the high fees of some Bitcoin ATMs and their potential for illegal activities. In February, the New Jersey Commission of Inquiry released a report titled “Fraud, Suspicious Transactions and Problematic Practices at the Cryptocurrency Kiosk (ATM),” detailing specific concerns.
Still, the expansion of the Bitcoin ATM industry will not stop.
According to online maps provided by the Coin ATM radar, there are now Bitcoin ATMs in the capital Washington and in every state except Alaska. New ATMs were recently installed at gas stations, stores and restaurants in rural North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, according to a Reuters reporter.
According to Chris McCullary, CEO of Coin Cloud, the company has installed 1,470 Bitcoin ATMs across the country and plans to increase them to 10,000 by the end of the year. Although he was concerned about the adverse effects of crown disease, he said that use increased during closure (blocking measures).
“I was expecting the worst with the direct impact of the new coronavirus, but the cash benefits of the stimulus package have been a good boost. Some people have received the benefits and bought digital currencies,” he said.
According to Daniel Polotoski, CEO of coin flip in the same industry, the company increased its ATMs from 420 to 1,800 last year. The volume of transactions per vehicle also tripled last year. “Some people don’t have a bank account, or even if they do, they don’t want to use it,” he said.
According to the CEO, coinflip charges clients 6.99% for buying crypto assets and 4.99% for selling crypto assets.
According to Brandon Mintz, CEO of Bitcoin Depot, most customers are between the ages of 25 and 40 and are looking for ATMs online.
Bitcoin ATM maker General Bites was temporarily out of stock last summer due to a surge in demand. According to the founder, last year’s sales were 3,000 units, 90% of which were installed in North America.
However, not all of these ATMs have a queue.
Quad Coin’s Shoikett removed some of the 200 units it installed last year because it didn’t make a profit in half a year.
When a Reuters reporter interviewed a restaurant in New York City, employees had to reconnect it to an electrical outlet to explain how Bitcoin ATMs work.
Coin Cloud’s Bitcoin ATMs were installed at the Pioneer Auto Museum in South Dakota five months ago, but according to owner Vivian Sonder, they have so far stopped using ATMs. There were only a few truckers on the move.
According to Sonder, Coin Cloud pays $ 200 a month to install an ATM. The company also regularly dispatches maintenance personnel from 140 miles away.
“I had a hard time understanding why I wanted to put it here. It’s a city with fewer than 500 residents, and most of the people who visit this museum have limited seasons,” Sonder said.
(Imani Moise reporter, Anna Irrera reporter)
