One more sign of the rampant adoption of cryptocurrencies… A new report from Finbold indicates that on average, 20 Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs were installed every day of March 2022 around the world. But not all territories are equal.
Bitcoin ATM installation exploded in March
Finbold reported this figure today. According to the news outlet, 686 Bitcoin ATMs, or ATMs, were installed in March 2022. This corresponds to 22 installations per day. In total, there are reportedly 36,733 Bitcoin ATMs in the world, a number that continues to soar.
As of last July, there were 24,000 Bitcoin ATMs. Since then, the trend has accelerated.
In total, 20,000 distributors would have been installed worldwide throughout 2021. This is a sign of confidence, according to Finbold:
“Vendors and investors are probably feeling optimistic about the long-term prospects of the field, despite the fact that the most important cryptocurrency is still quite far from its all-time high.”
Distribution still very uneven
So some countries are getting into Bitcoin ATMs, but it’s very far from being the case for all. Based on the data published by CoinATMRadar, some territories are lagging behind… Including France. It is far from being a surprise, the Hexagon has been slow for years to get into ATMs. There are currently only 3 in the whole country.
Our European neighbors seem to be better off. Spain is the third country with the most Bitcoin ATMs, with 255 of them. In Italy, there are reportedly 75 ATMs at the moment, and 48 in Belgium.
North America, however, remains far ahead: there are reportedly 32,674 Bitcoin ATMs in the United States, and 2,447 in Canada.
The world hovers between prohibition and authorization
The big loser in this ranking is of course the UK, which forced all ATMs to close last March, citing a lack of regulatory compliance with the law regarding money laundering. This is a warning, but a big one: service providers will have to declare their machines to the FCA, and prove that they are now compliant before they can reopen. At the moment, only 25 ATMs are reportedly accessible.
It’s the same story in Singapore, which had banned advertising for crypto-currencies… And considered that ATMs were an advertisement in themselves. The local Monetary Authority had thus explained:
“Providing [access to cryptos] through the use of ATMs is a form of promotion of digital payment tokens. […] This could mislead the public, who may exchange digital payment tokens impulsively, without considering the risks.”
While this sign of widespread adoption is welcome, it’s important to remember that regulators are watching, and they don’t always look favorably on ATM installation.
