Bitcoin ATMs growing faster than bank ATMs Installation of Bitcoin and Altcoin ATMs are growing exponentially even faster than standard Bank ATMs. Currently there are almost 2400 Bitcoin ATMs installed with nearly 50 percent also supporting other cryptocurrencies. Now there are around five new Bitcoin ATMs being installed on a daily basis. Last year the number doubled and it is on the cards that they will double again over the coming months.
Wikipedia describes Bitcoin ATMs as Bitcoin kiosks, machines connected to the Internet, allowing the insertion of cash in exchange for bitcoins given as a paper receipt or by moving money to a public key on the blockchain. They look like traditional ATMs, but Bitcoin kiosks do not connect to a bank account but instead connect the user directly to a Bitcoin exchange.
Most Bitcoin ATMs are in the US with over 1300 machines installed with Canada second at around 340 and the UK with just over a 100. Asian has started slow but is likely to catch up and even overtake with Bitcoin being more and more accepted by Asian nations. Japan, Singapore lead the way in Bitcoin acceptance but now S. Korea is coming around and other nations are beginning to follow suit.
You pay for the convenience with the average fee to buy Bitcoin at an ATM around 10 percent, much more than the use of exchanges. Also some form of ID or ‘Know your customer’ (KYC) identification is becoming increasingly demanded. Some anonymous machines still exist but the least is usually a phone number needed as part of the buying process.
In Australia there are plans to launch 3000 Bitcoin machines with Brisbane airport the first airport in the world to host Bitcoin ATMs. If you want to locate a Bitcoin ATM near you go to coinatmradar.com.
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