Bitcoin ATMs surge by 87% in past year to surpass 10,000 globally

The total number of Bitcoin ATMs has now passed 10,000 worldwide.

According to Norwegian financial services company AksjeBloggen, the number of Bitcoin ATMs (BTMs) has jumped 87% in the past year, from the 5336 recorded in September 2019. In 2020 alone, nearly 3,900 new ATMs were added. Monitoring resource CoinATMRadar shows there are currently 10,014 ATMs in 71 countries allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins for cash. 

“2020 has witnessed a surge in the number of ATMs supporting digital coins,” stated the AksjeBloggen report.

“3,885 new BTMs [opened] worldwide between January and September, a 67% increase in nine months.”

Currently, the United States leads the market worldwide by a significant margin, with more than 7,800 BTMs. Canada comes in second with 869 machines. Depending on the machine, crypto holders can purchase and withdraw major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Dash (DASH), Litecoin (LTC), Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), Dogecoin (DOGE), Tether (USDT) and XRP.

However adoption isn’t growing everywhere. CoinATMRadar’s data shows that Austria was one of the few countries to experience negative installation growth since 2019. The country currently has 149 BTMs, down from 244 in September 2019.

Source: CoinATMRadar

The decrease could be related to the regulatory atmosphere, with new regulations in neighbouring Germany, which has just 27 BTMs. Machine owners are now required to obtain a license from the country's financial regulator, BaFin, to operate. German businesses may be held liable for unlicensed Bitcoin ATMs on their property regardless of who owns them.