A further sign of the rampant adoption of cryptocurrencies… A new report from Finbold shows that, on average, 20 Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs were installed every day of March 2022 worldwide. But not all territories are equal.
The installation of Bitcoin ATMs exploded in March
Finbold reported this figure today. According to the media outlet, 686 Bitcoin ATMs were installed in March 2022. This corresponds to 22 installations per day. In total, there are 36,733 Bitcoin ATMs in the world, a figure that is steadily rising.
Last July, there were 24,000 Bitcoin ATMs. Since then, the trend has accelerated:
Growth in the number of Bitcoin ATMs worldwide
A total of 20,000 ATMs would have been installed globally 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 largest cryptocurrency is still quite far from its all-time high. “
Still a very uneven distribution
Some countries are therefore moving to Bitcoin ATMs, but this is far from being the case for all. Based on the data published by CoinATMRadar, some territories are lagging behind… Including France. It’s far from a surprise, as France has been slow to get into ATMs for years. There are currently only three in the whole country.
Our European neighbours, however, 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, is still far ahead: there are an estimated 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 money laundering legislation. 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 re-open. At present, only 25 ATMs are reportedly accessible.
It’s the same story in Singapore, which banned advertising for cryptocurrencies… and considered ATMs to be an advertisement in themselves. The local Monetary Authority had explained:
“Providing [access to cryptos] through the use of ATMs is a form of promotion of digital payment tokens. [This could mislead the public into exchanging digital payment tokens on impulse, without considering the risks. “
While this sign of widespread adoption is welcome, it is important to remember that regulators are watching, and do not always look favourably on the installation of ATMs.
