In the wake of the recent surge of publicity and as mass adoption looks more feasible by the day, the Cryptocurrency market is at this time a booming economic and financial business sector. References can be seen with respect to increased profits for crypto firms, user influx, more crypto jobs among other gains.
This increase in crypto faithful has brought about a corresponding need for easy access to trading (Buy/Sell) of these digital assets especially Bitcoin. Hence, the welcome innovation of Bitcoin/Crypto ATMs; with the first Bitcoin ATM launched in October 2013 at Canada. This Bitcoin / Crypto ATMs look a bit like the traditional fiat ATMs though directly connected to an exchange via the internet and do not dispense physical coins but accept cash input. They also possess additional features like Bar code scanning for wallet addresses.
According to a recent study by MarketsandMarkets, the Bitcoin ATM market is set to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50% over a five year period between 2018 to 2023 and will be worth $145 million during this period.
At this time, statistics show a total of 3,650 Bitcoin ATMs available globally with an approximate average of four Bitcoin ATMs installed daily as quoted by cryptocurrency ATM tracking website, Coin ATM Radar. As it stands the Bitcoin ATM market which was valued at $6.8 million in 2017 is worth over $16 million in 2018 with North America being its largest market playing host to 73% of Bitcoin ATMs available globally; with Canada, USA and Mexico leading the park. The United States is pitched to maintain dominance of the Crypto ATM market till 2023 especially as it plays host to crypto hardware and software firms and also offers a conducive investment environment devoid of legal restrictions.
The study also posits that the Two-way ATMs which allow users to Buy and Sell cryptocurrencies from a single device or sales point will enjoy a higher CAGR than the One-way ATMs; despite the one-way ATMs being the most commonly available at this time.
In all while this forecast predicts a mouth watering rise in profits and utility of these Crypto machines, one major downturn remains the percentage fees or commissions charged by Bitcoin ATM companies on transactions and this has had most users stick to traditional crypto exchanges.
Did you know? Bitcoin ATMs are available in Africa; specifically South Africa,Kenya and Zimbabwe. Also the first Bitcoin ATM in Africa; was launched in South Africa in 2014.
