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August 4, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin ATMs

Local exchange Gaia Co. is set to roll out crypto ATMs in Tokyo and Osaka and has outlined plans for 130 of them over the next three years.

Crypto ATMs — or BTMs according to local terminology — are back in Japan after a lengthy four-year hiatus.

Local crypto exchange firm Gaia Co., Ltd announced on Tuesday that it will soon roll out BTMs that support Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC).

Despite Bitcoin ATMs having made their debut in Tokyo as early as 2014, the country has not seen any active digital asset ATMs since the crypto winter of 2018, which saw local exchange Coincheck hacked for $530 million, bringing the local sector to its knees and souring interest in crypto ATMs.

Initially, the BTMs will be installed in locations across Tokyo and Osaka, but the firm has outlined plans to set up 50 BTMs across the country within the next 12 months. The company said it hopes to increase the installed base to 130 BTMs within the next three years.

The BTMs will allow users to withdraw a max of $747, or 100,000 Japanese yen, per transaction, with a max withdrawal cap of $2,243, or 300,000 yen, per day. The limited withdrawals are part of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance measures.

According to a Wednesday report from local media outlet Mainichi Shimbun, the move from Gaia will mark the first time a locally-registered crypto company has installed crypto ATMs in Japan.

To withdraw funds from the BTMs, users need to register with the company to obtain a special card that grants them access to do so. Once approved, users can send crypto assets to the BTM via a smartphone and then withdraw the cash amount in yen.

The BTMs will help speed up the current withdrawal process in the country, which often takes a few days to wire funds from an exchange to a local bank account, the Japanese-language outlet noted.

Crypto interest resurfacing?

The Coincheck hack, along with the $500 million hack on the Mt. Gox crypto exchange in 2014, ultimately resulted in the government opting for a hands-off approach by assigning oversight to the self-regulatory agency, Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA).

However, it appears the government has had a renewed interest in helping the market prosper this year.

As previously reported in July, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) gave the JVCEA “stern warnings” to speed up its rollout of AML regulation.

Meanwhile, prime minister Fumio Kishida has also called on the entity to speed up its lengthy screening process for new digital asset listing applications from local exchanges.

Last month, Cointelegraph reported that The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) opened up its landmark Web3 Policy Office in the Minister’s Secretariat. The newly established entity will work to develop an innovative business environment for Web3 companies, along with the roll-out of regulation to support the sector.

Hyosung America makes Bitcoin purchasing app available to 175,000 ATMs

July 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin ATMs

It will be up to the specific ATM operator to decide whether they want to incorporate the service making it unlikely all 175,000 of Hyosung’s ATMs will actually support BTC buying.

Hyosung America has signed a partnership deal with cash-to-crypto provider DigitalMint that enables Bitcoin (BTC) purchasing across the firm’s 175,000 ATMs located in the U.S.

Apart from offering its own BTC and Litecoin (LTC) payment rails such as ATMs, bank wires and tellers, DigitalMint also provides software API integrations that allow retailers or ATM operators to sell BTC through their machines.

As part of the deal, which was announced on July 12, Hyosung America will add DigitalMint’s crypto buying services to its upcoming API-based app store, which is being built for the firm’s ATMs.

However it will be up to the specific ATM operator to decide whether they want to incorporate DigitalMint’s services or not, which means it is unlikely the majority of Hyosung’s 175,000 ATMs will actually support BTC buying.

The CMO for Hyosung America, Brad Nolan stated the API-based app store will not only offer ATM operators a chance to sell BTC, but also offer a chance to provide a host of new services on them:

“With the app store, any ATM operator using our retail software platform can subscribe and download apps such as DigitalMint, to enable their ATMs to do more — driving new revenue streams for the operators and the retailers with whom they partner.”

Given the scale of Hyosung America’s ATM network, it may provide significant customer exposure for DigitalMint’s services. It is unclear if the duo have plans to launch further collaborations however, considering that DigitalMint offers crypto buying services for just two crypto assets.

Excited to partner with DigitalMint in launching new innovative technology. Read more here: https://t.co/OyqzhJSmk4 https://t.co/ZkHVZWJB6U
— Hyosung America (@HyosungAmericas) July 12, 2022

Hyosung America is the North American subsidiary of South Korean firm Hyosung, Inc, and claims that it is the “largest provider of ATMs” in the U.S. The company has not made any notable plays in crypto apart from this, but given that it is working on an API-based app store, more crypto partnerships could follow.

According to data from Coin ATM Radar, as of this month there are currently 33,772 Bitcoin ATMs installed in the U.S., making it the country with the most BTC ATMs in the world. For contrast, second-placed Canada has just 2,438 BTC ATMs installed, while the combined figure for the entire world stands at 38,430.

Coin ATM Radar data suggests that interest in crypto friendly ATMs is waning, with Cointelegraph reporting on June 5 that global Bitcoin ATM installations hit a record low in May of just 202, a range not seen since 2019. The figure did surge back to around 714 by June, however the number is still well off ATH figures of 2,037 posted in August 2021.

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Bitcoin ATMs

Crypto interest resurfacing?

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