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- The trend of installing Bitcoin ATMs continues in 2021, recording a massive increase of installed ATMs to 34,000 from 12,800 globally.
- The Bitcoin ATM adoption is on fire, with several countries initiating installations. Still, the United States carries the highest number of installed ATMs, i.e., 29,000.
- The adoption results from the increasing popularity of digital assets, though many users aren’t satisfied with the expensive transactions these ATMs execute.
From the beginning of the year, the total number of Bitcoin ATMs installed all around the globe has more than doubled, with the global number of Bitcoin ATM installations being 34,000. It’s worth noticing that most of these installations took place in the United States.
The growth of installing Bitcoin ATMs had surpassed the 100% mark in 2021 and is the most significant growth of all time, including the time of 2013 when Bitcoin ATMs just started to appear. The first-ever Bitcoin ATM was installed in Canada’s Waves Coffee Shop on 29 October 2013. Today, the number which stands at 34,000 for Bitcoin ATM installations was just around 14,000 in January 2021.
The performance of Bitcoin has been incredible throughout the year, and the growing number of ATM installations indicate that the digital asset has started to gain hold in the broader economy. The year has shown promising growth for Bitcoins future in several aspects.
The Bitcoin ATM Installation Trend
The trend of installing Bitcoin ATMs has been followed from the year 2020, when ATM installations grew massively, irrespective of the ongoing pandemic. The Bitcoin ATMs were also doubled in 2020, growing to 12,800 from 6,400. The trend was first initiated in 2018, resulting from the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) blast at the beginning of that year.
Although Bitcoin ATMs carry several advantages, it also has some significant downsides, the primary being expensive transactions. Many users expressed that they would give stationary crypto exchanges far more priority than Bitcoin ATMs. Although, the ATMs are a more suitable option for the general public to initiate investments in Bitcoin, further putting some exposure on the class of digital assets.
As per reports, the Bitcoin ATM installations received good growth for the first time in March 2021, and ever since then, many countries have started adopting the trend. Today, there are numerous countries worldwide that now support the operations of Bitcoin ATMs.
The Mass Adoption
Even though there has been mass adoption of Bitcoin ATMs, most of these are located in the United States, estimated for about 29,000 ATMs. In May 2021, the Bitcoin Depot solely installed over 350 Bitcoin ATMs in the U.S. As the interest for digital assets grew in Europe, Honduras installed its first-ever crypto ATM. El Salvador, which accepts Bitcoin as a legal tender now, has more than 200 Bitcoin ATMs installed. Columbia followed suit, and it launched its crypto ATMs after El Salvador did. For the time being, China has banned cryptocurrencies but has started a digital ATM for the Renminbi and cash exchange services in Beijing.
The Future Of Crypto ATMs
The countries that plan to support and install or have a few Bitcoin ATMs include Japan, Malaysia, UAE, Barbados, Venezuela, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and many more. The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is the only reason for this mass adoption, and it should not be a surprise. The future involves digital assets, and having crypto ATMs all around isn’t too far in the future. Yet the regulatory clarity is the bummer that prevents predicting the future.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
