: Founder of Robocoin, launched the first bitcoin ATM in the US on February 20, 2014. The kiosk installed in Austin, Texas is similar to bank ATMs but has scanners to read government-issued identification such as a driver's license or a passport to confirm users' identities. From last year i.e., 2017 total of 1574 bitcoin ATMs were installed around the world with an average fee of 9.05%. An average of 3 bitcoin ATMs were being installed per day in September 2017.
Bitcoin ATM Machines History.
- Thread starter hasyu
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We covered ATMs briefly in our article about buying bitcoin. I expect ATMs to grow. Coin Radar covers ATM expansion. Link in the article.
Easy ways to buy bitcoin - The Cryptocurrency Forums
Easy ways to buy bitcoin - The Cryptocurrency Forums
Old Man Crypto
Expert chainblocker
Anyone know what a bitcoin ATM costs? Are there a lot of legal hoops to jump through to buy and run one?
I didn’t know the answer to this either. So I did a little digging. Rather than reprint everything, head to this article on CoinRadar
Revenue and costs of running a bitcoin ATM
The answer is complex and also more expensive by far than I expected. Legal, compliance, state registrations, KYC/AML etc. The machines are the cheapest part of the process at $7-9k USD. The rest of the article made my head swim. You could be looking first year 6 figure costs. The only way to get ROI on that is in population dense areas with good marketing skills.
Old Man Crypto
Expert chainblocker
Very interesting stuff thank you. More expensive than I thought too. Quite a bit more. You would definitely not want them in smaller cities or rural areas I guess. That site is encouraging about growth in locations though.
Found this brief article today. Over 3,000 worldwide ATM’s and growing.
Almost 3,000 Bitcoin ATMs are Installed Worldwide
Still a lot of room left for many though. The world is a big place.
If bitcoin or any other currency achieves its goal of becoming a global transactional currency, will demand for ATM’s weaken? I get that we use cash ATM’s now, but crypto doesn’t have a physical form. If you get paid in crypto and buy with crypto, it would seem like no ATM would be needed. There’s a long way to go first though.
Thoughts?
Almost 3,000 Bitcoin ATMs are Installed Worldwide
Still a lot of room left for many though. The world is a big place.
If bitcoin or any other currency achieves its goal of becoming a global transactional currency, will demand for ATM’s weaken? I get that we use cash ATM’s now, but crypto doesn’t have a physical form. If you get paid in crypto and buy with crypto, it would seem like no ATM would be needed. There’s a long way to go first though.
Thoughts?
Old Man Crypto
Expert chainblocker
Good question. Like you said though, it will be a growing business for awhile before any slowdown. I think costs will come down as competition heats up. A lot of people outside the US don't want to or can't use central exchanges leaving them with atms or local cash buying.
But for spending right now, you wouldn't go to an ATM, buy bitcoin, and then spend it. Too many fees when you can just send from an online bank or account. Even with foreign currency exchanges fees don't get to 9%. And you don't have to go anywhere to access your money to send.
Are there any stats on whether ATM users are buying just to invest or buying to use for international purchases or maybe illegal purchases?
BitFit
Contributor
I’ve never seen a bitcoin ATM and I travel a good bit including to several large cities in the last 2 years. I bet you have to go looking for one still. 3,000 doesn’t seem like a lot for the whole world. On the maps in the links it seems Europe has a bigger concentration. I’m in the US so that probably makes a difference as to why I haven’t seen one yet.
CryptoTC
Crypto Fat Cat
BitFit
Contributor
Sounds expensive though. Bigger investors than me could do it.