Bitcoin adoption continues its unrelenting growth path, as the popular cryptocurrency sees its number of ATMs more than double in the last year.
Bitcoin ATMs are not ubiquitous yet (but they soon might be)
It is odd to think that getting money was not as simple as going to a machine and pressing a few buttons only one to two generations back. But bank tellers have been displaced by ATMs, and a similar development may be underway with the current state of ATMs. Quite possibly, withdrawing bitcoin at ATMs could soon be just as common as it is now with fiat currency.
That might still seem somewhat outlandish but the data is backing up Bitcoin. Global Bitcoin ATM installations hit 10,000 recently, only seven years after the first-ever machine was installed. Year on year, the number of Bitcoin ATMs has risen by 167%, according to data from Norwegian financial services company AksjeBloggen. That makes this year the fastest-growing so far. With ATMs being one of the most convenient and quickest ways to transfer bitcoin to and from physical money, it is easy to see why ATM operators are getting in the game.
Where are Bitcoin ATMs located?
Bitcoin ATMs are usually operated by companies such as CoinFlip, a leading U.S. Bitcoin operator with a network of over 900 ATMs in 45 states. According to the company’s CEO Daniel Polotsky, CoinFlip is installing 30 to 50 new ATMs a day and expanding to Canada. He believes that ATM operators make Bitcoin easy to understand and tangible, which will be vital if Bitcoin becomes a means of payment for the mainstream.
Unsurprisingly, the U.S. is the undisputed leader in terms of Bitcoin ATM installations globally. Its number hit over 7,500 in September, a 127% growth year-on-year. Canada is a distant second, with only 869 Bitcoin ATMs registered. Bitcoin ATMs are also popular in developing countries, where cryptocurrency is more seen as a means of payment than an investment vehicle. Keep in mind that these figures do not even account yet for the introduction of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador, which should see the number of ATM installations in the country skyrocket.
Does Australia even have Bitcoin ATMs?
Curiously, Australia does not register among the top 10 countries when it comes to Bitcoin ATMs. Coin ATM Radar, a leading Bitcoin ATM intelligence provider, shows Bitcoin ATMs in 41 locations, with 16 in Sydney, 12 in Melbourne, 5 in Brisbane, and 3 in Adelaide. That’s a far cry from the massive numbers in the U.S. or even Canada and a good indicator of how much Bitcoin adoption in Australia is still lagging. Even much smaller countries like Slovakia or Hungary have more Bitcoin ATMs, according to the Coin ATM Radar.
One cannot help but hope that the rising price of Bitcoin and the growing mainstream attention will serve as a wake-up call to Australian regulators to provide some much-needed clarity on the status of cryptocurrencies in the country.