Automated teller machines (ATMs) are a regular sight in a lot of cities. They give access to funds in a simple and quick manner.
Bitcoin ATMs are a bit different in that they allow people to buy and sell bitcoins with ease, making Bitcoin more accessible. These Bitcoin ATMs have recently reached a NEW milestone as the worldwide total has now reached 3,500.
Coinatmradar is a website that monitors bitcoin ATMs all over the world and is constantly updated as more ATM’s pop up around the globe and as some close. Right now, despite the drop in Bitcoin prices, Bitcoin ATMs are still popping up all over the globe. At the time of this writing, there are 3,503 bitcoin ATMs currently active worldwide.
These bitcoin ATM’s don’t just support bitcoin either. Around 52.7 percent of the total ATM’s also support altcoins. Litecoin is supported in 49 percent of these ATMs, while Ether can be accessed by 32.1 percent of them. The growth of bitcoin ATMs is actually surprising considering they just hit the 1,000 milestone early in 2017. This means that around 2,500 bitcoin ATMs have been set up in just 17 months.
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North America Has The Highest Concentration
Most of these bitcoin ATMs are concentrated in North America. According to the data available, there are around 2,500 bitcoin ATMs in North America. This makes up more than half of the Bitcoin ATMs currently available. As for other regions, Europe is the second when it comes to bitcoin ATM coverage. Austria and the United Kingdom are where a majority of the European bitcoin ATMs are located. Close behind are Russia and the Czech Republic.
The installation rate of bitcoin ATMs is still going strong though. Even with the price slump that bitcoin is experiencing, installers of bitcoin ATMs are currently installing eight bitcoin ATMs per day. There are two firms that are leading the pack in the Bitcoin ATM business: Genesis Coin, which has a 33.69 percent market share and General Bytes which has 26.89 percent market share.
Both companies are finding bitcoin ATM installation very profitable and have plans to expand. These two companies have now started offering many more features in their ATM machines. Early Bitcoin ATMs only allowed buying of Bitcoin, but the rising trend is to offer both buying and selling of Bitcoin. With the improved hardware, two-way bitcoin ATMs are now 37.04 percent of the total bitcoin ATM population.
