A dozen Bitcoin ATMs planned at the largest EU electronics retailer

April 21, 2022 Coin Telegraph

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Following a successful Bitcoin ATM pilot by Europe’s largest electronics retailer, 12 new Bitcoin ATMs are coming to Austria’s MediaMarkt stores.

Austrians have “sufficient funds” for more Bitcoin ATMs — hat’s the verdict that MediaMarkt, a German electronics retailer, reached following a successful Bitcoin ATM pilot in Austria.

MediaMarkt will roll out Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs in 12 branches across the country, including Seiersberg and Klagenfurt. According to the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, the pilot project, which featured a lone Bitcoin ATM in a MediaMarkt shop, proved that “Bitcoin ATMs in shops offer an opportunity to attract new customers.”

As Europe’s largest consumer electronics retailer, MediaMarkt operates in 13 countries, with over 850 stores and revenue exceeding 21 billion euros ($23 billion) in 2021. MediaMarkt partnered with Coinfinity, an Austrian Bitcoin company, to manage the pilot and subsequent rollout of the ATMs.

Confinity and its spinoff ATM company, Kurant, manage over 200 Bitcoin ATMs in Austria, Germany, Spain and Greece. Cointelegraph reached out to Coinfinity for comment and has not yet received a reply.

*Bitcoin ATMs by Kurant (Coinfinity) across Europe. Source: Kurant*

Bitcoin ATMs (automated teller machines), sometimes jokingly referred to as BTMs (Bitcoin teller machines), offer Bitcoin enthusiasts a means to cash out their BTC or deposit fiat. By simply scanning a wallet address, they can receive satoshis (the smallest denomination of BTC) or cash.

The news of more Bitcoin ATMs coming to Austria is welcome, considering that the growth in Bitcoin ATMs around the world has slowed in 2022.

The United Kingdom recently clamped down on non-registered ATMs as its Financial Conduct Authority takes a tougher stance on Bitcoin ATMs due to a lack of regulatory structure.

For BitBase, a Spanish Bitcoin ATM provider seeking to operate in Portugal, the group has established physical outlets in Lisbon, but regulators have stalled official openings. In light of the EU’s “attack” on noncustodial wallets, the future of Bitcoin and crypto in the EU is uncertain.

Given that Austria will add 12 more Bitcoin ATMs to its total of over 110, the rollout of Bitcoin ATMs in Europe may just be getting started.

Bitcoin ATM installations slow down in early 2022, making a first in history

March 1, 2022 Coin Telegraph

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1,817 crypto ATMs have been installed worldwide in the first two months of 2022. Last year saw 2,435 crypto ATMs installations in the same time window.

Over the last six months, Bitcoin (BTC) recorded numerous milestones — El Salvador’s mainstream adoption, a new all-time high of $69,000 and a stronger-than-ever network hash rate. However, for the first time in history, global Bitcoin ATM installations in the first two months have slowed down when compared to the preceding year.

Bitcoin ATM installations in the first two months of the year have historically increased year-over-year, as evidenced by data from Coin ATM Radar. The trend, however, breaks this year.

Overall Bitcoin ATM installations. Source: Coin ATM Radar

Considering only January and February 2022, a total of 1,817 crypto ATMs have been installed worldwide. In the same timeframe last year, 2,435 crypto ATMs were installed, which is 618 ATMs more when compared to this year.

In 2020, only 760 ATMs were installed in this timeframe, which overshadowed 2019’s 250 ATM installations.

One of the main reasons for the momentary slowdown can be attributed to the lack of involvement from newer jurisdictions. For example, the United States alone contributed to 93% of the total global crypto ATM installations in 2022 with 1,689 new ATMs.

*Global crypto ATM distribution. Source: Coin ATM Radar*

On the other hand, Bitcoin ATMs in Europe were reduced by 1 ATM in the first two months, going down to a total of 1,397 ATMs. At the time of writing, North America represents over 95% of total crypto ATM installations with 34,284 ATMs.

World map of Bitcoin ATMs. Source: Coin ATM Radar

There are a total of 36,067 ATMs installed currently. Despite a slower start to the year, crypto ATM installations are expected to grow as jurisdictions such as El Salvador plans to deploy 1,500 Bitcoin ATMs.

Unless more governments amp up their efforts to crypto adoption, the ATM installations will find it difficult to maintain an upward trajectory as existing crypto-friendly countries reach saturation in terms of installing new crypto and Bitcoin ATMs.

One of the immediate positive effects of Bitcoin adoption for El Salvador is a sudden spike on tourism. Salvadoran Tourism Minister Morena Valdez said on Feb. 22 that the country’s tourism industry surged more than 30% since the adoption of the Bitcoin law in September 2021.

Boom!

El Salvador’s tourism has grown by 30% since the Bitcoin Lawhttps://t.co/i8t6JRHD1a #ElSalvador #BitcoinLaw #bitcoin #bitcoininvestment #Abtc #tourism #BitcoinCity #blockchain #investments
— Mónica Taher ⚡️ (@monicataher) February 22, 2022

As Cointelegraph reported, Valdez said that El Salvador’s tourism growth exceeded the government’s expectations, reaching 1.4 million visitors instead of 1.1 million tourists, adding:

“We had projected $800,000 in foreign exchange but we obtained more than $1,400 million of income in foreign currency”

Singapore crypto ATMs shut down after central bank crackdown

January 19, 2022 Coin Telegraph

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The move is part of a broader effort by the Singaporean watchdog to regulate advertising cryptocurrency to the public.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has reportedly decided to shut down cryptocurrency automatic teller machines in the city-state.

According to Bloomberg, to comply with new regulations issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank, cryptocurrency ATM operators in the country were forced to shut down their operations on Tuesday.

The new clampdown on cryptocurrency ATMs sparked several reactions from the city’s cryptocurrency operators, with Daenerys & Co saying it was “surprised” and canceling its ATM service on Tuesday evening. Its main competitor, Deodi, switched off its ATM network and sent staff to remove its crypto ATMs.

The move is part of a broader effort by the Singaporean watchdog to regulate advertising cryptocurrency to the public. On Monday, the central bank released new guidance that bans crypto firms from advertising their services in public places, websites and social networks.

Singapore’s souring on crypto, however, is more of a surprise. Coincub, a fintech startup based in the city-state, named Singapore the most crypto-friendly country in the world in December, owing to the city’s “good legislative environment” and “high rate of cryptocurrency adoption.” However, the legislative climate in the city-state appears to be cloudier right now.

Cointelegraph reached out to the MAS for more information but did not receive a response as of publishing time. This article will be updated if new details emerge.

The clampdown in Singapore came soon after similar advertising limitations were enacted in Spain and the United Kingdom. On Monday, the Spanish government required crypto businesses to submit ad campaigns for regulatory approval 10 days in advance, while the U.K. launched a review of cryptocurrency advertising norms, vowing to crack down on products with deceptive claims.

Uruguay reportedly installs its first Bitcoin ATM

January 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

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Uruguay’s first crypto ATM has been installed in the coastal city of Punta del Este, a major tourist attraction in the region.

Uruguay has reportedly installed its first Bitcoin (BTC) ATM, making it the 11th South American country to publicly encourage crypto adoption. Prior to Uruguay’s involvement, South America hosted 79 ATMs, which represented 0.2% of global BTC ATM installations.

According to Ámbito, Uruguay’s first crypto ATM was installed in the coastal city of Punta del Este, a major tourist attraction in the region. Uruguay’s first Bitcoin ATM was developed and installed in partnership with two local crypto companies — URUBit and inBierto.

The crypto ATM in Uruguay currently supports withdrawal and deposits of five cryptocurrencies, namely — BTC, Binance Coin (BNB), Binance USD (BUSD), Ferret Token (FRT) and Urubit (URUB). FRT and URUB are in-house cryptocurrencies managed and distributed by URUBit and inBierto respectively.

Adolfo Varela, the CEO of inBierto, confirmed that the initiative was 100% funded by the government of Uruguay. inBierto is a crypto investment platform, who is also a member of the Uruguayan Chamber of Fintech (Cámara Uruguaya de Fintech), a startup accelerator focused on the fintech sector. URUBit is a decentralized token created in Uruguay and deployed in the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).

Data from Coin ATM Radar shows that Colombia leads the South American market with 31 crypto ATM installations to date, who is followed by Brazil and Argentina at 22 and 11 installations respectively.

Other South American countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Aruba and Saint Kits and Nevis have also installed one crypto ATM.

inBierto has not yet responded to Cointelegraph's request for comment.

Last year, an Uruguayan senator introduced a draft bill seeking to regulate cryptocurrency and enable businesses to accept crypto payments.

As Cointelegraph reported, senator Juan Sartori was not keen on adopting crypto as a legal tender. Instead, he suggested:

“Today we present a bill that seeks to establish a legitimate, legal and safe use in businesses related to the production and commercialization of virtual currencies in Uruguay.”

El Salvador ranks third in global Bitcoin ATM installations, data finds

September 18, 2021 Coin Telegraph

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The Salvadorian government has installed over 200 ATMs in September after adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender.

El Salvador now hosts the third-largest network of crypto ATMs after the United States and Canada, amounting to 70% of all crypto ATMs in South America.

According to data from Coin ATM Radar, El Salvador has exceeded United Kingdom’s crypto ATM count after deploying 205 crypto ATMs to date to facilitate local Bitcoin transactions and BTC to U.S. dollar conversions.

Comparing this to Statista data from August 16, it becomes evident that El Salvador has successfully installed 201 ATMs in just one month. Beforehand, the country ranked 43rd on the list with just four functional crypto ATMs.

President Nayib Bukele had previously stated that Bitcoin’s adoption would be initially supported by a network of 200 ATMs and 50 branches. The Salvadorean government has partnered with an in-house cryptocurrency wallet provider named Chivo to power the BTC wallets and ATM usage in the country.

Crypto ATM installations are at an all-time high around the world with 27,664 active machines, and 2,790 new machines being added in September. The increase in El Salvador’s ATM installation drive aligns with the recent presidential order that requires all businesses to accept payment in Bitcoin. However, the merchants retain the option to convert Bitcoin payments to USD before withdrawing their earnings.

While other jurisdictions are yet to decide on Bitcoin’s use case as a mainstream asset, an average of 63.7 ATMs continue to get installed globally every day. Genesis coin remains a leading crypto ATM manufacturer with a market share of 40.7%, while General Bytes and BitAccess represent 22.7% and 12.7% of the market, respectively.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption has seen some resistance from locals, which recently led to the burning of a Chivo-supported Bitcoin machine. Those protesting adoption of Bitcoin highlighted concerns regarding uncertainty, price fluctuation and lack of exposure to the crypto market.

The Chivo kiosk is the government’s first attempt to create an infrastructure for BTC and U.S. dollar conversions. Currently, El Salvador uses both Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar as legal tender.

Global crypto ATM installations increased by 70% in 2021

July 26, 2021 Coin Telegraph

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2021 saw the installation of over 10,000 new crypto ATMs worldwide, with the United States taking the lead.

Alongside cryptocurrency’s decade-long adoption drive, the crypto ATMs continue to momentum across the globe. Based on Coin ATM Radar’s latest data, crypto ATM installations in 2021 witnessed a spike of 71.73%, pulling up the numbers from 13,993 in 1st Jan to 24,030 at the time of reporting.

Last year, the global count rose to 13,993 ATMs with a 119.56% growth after 7,620 new machines were installed. 2021 saw the installation of 10,037 ATMs to date. To keep things in perspective, data suggests that crypto ATMs are being installed at a speed of roughly 52.3 ATMs per day.

The United States currently leads this space, having installed nearly 48 ATMs per day based on the data acquired in the last 7 days. As reported by Cointelegraph back in March, the ATM count in the US rose to 177% in just a year, standing at 16,835.

Crypto ATMs can currently be accessed across 75 sovereign nations, being powered by 42 producers. Coin ATM Radar’s data on the manufacturers also suggests that Genesis Coin dominates this space with 40.9% market share while the General Bytes owns around 24% of the market. The remaining 35% of the market is shared among other players, including BitAccess, Coinsource and Bitstop.

One of the largest holders of the Bitcoin (BTC) ATM network, Bitcoin Depot, recently announced a partnership with Circle K to install crypto ATMs across the U.S. and Canada. The partnership has since resulted in the installation of more than 700 Bitcoin ATMs.

Bitcoin Depot operates over 3,500 crypto ATMs allowing users in the US and Canada to purchase over 30 types of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC).