The number of Bitcoin ATMs worldwide has been growing exponentially, according to data from Coin ATM Radar. As of this writing on 7 August 2018, there are 3,509 Bitcoin ATMs in 74 countries around the world, up from 2,090 at the beginning of 2018, 949 at the beginning of 2017, 502 at the beginning of 2016, 327 at the beginning of 2015, and 4 at the beginning of 2014. Eight new Bitcoin ATMs are installed every day on average.
As can be seen from this data, Bitcoin ATMs are a relatively new invention that practically didn’t exist before 2014, but they are obviously a profitable enterprise since Bitcoin ATM operators have been installing them in more locations as fast as possible. North America dominates the Bitcoin ATM market with 74% of all Bitcoin ATMs, and Europe is in second place at 21%. There are Bitcoin ATMs on every continent besides Antarctica.
Bitcoin ATMs are essentially a Bitcoin exchange that can be visited in person. They provide near immediate results, versus a Bitcoin exchange like Coinbase which can take days to complete a Bitcoin buy or sell. More importantly, Bitcoin ATMs provide a physical link between Bitcoin and the economy, since they allow people to move Bitcoin into and out of fiat currency in a convenient way. Bitcoin ATMs allow people who get paid in Bitcoin to easily get the cash they need to pay rent and buy food, making Bitcoin paychecks just as good, if not better, than a cash paycheck.
While there is much talk across the Bitcoin world about how a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) or physical Bitcoin futures need to be approved for Bitcoin to gain mass adoption, the proliferation of Bitcoin ATMs across the world might be a far more important factor. Bitcoin ATMs are increasing the Bitcoin userbase, Bitcoin transaction volume, and therefore Bitcoin price. Bitcoin ATMs turn Bitcoin into a currency that can be easily used in real-life.
Bitcoin ATMs often offer other major cryptocurrencies in addition to Bitcoin. There are 1,738 ATMs which offer Litecoin, 1,121 ATMs which offer Ethereum, 814 ATMs which offer Bitcoin Cash, 424 ATMs which offer Dash, 63 ATMs which offer Monero, 44 ATMs which offer Zcash, and 39 ATMs which offer Dogecoin.
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