NewsBTC
No Result
View All Result
  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play GamesTry
  • CasinosTry
Breaking News: Coinbase Confirms DOJ Investigation Following Major Security Incident
  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play GamesTry
  • CasinosTry
Bitcoin News
No Result
View All Result
Breaking News: Coinbase Confirms DOJ Investigation Following Major Security Incident

Are Bitcoin ATMs Driving Adoption, Criminality, or Consumerism?

Rick Delafont
Rick Delafont
6 years ago
4 mins read

Reason to trust

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
How Our News is Made

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality

Ad discliamer

Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.

The number of Bitcoin ATMs around the world continues to grow each year. For many, this signals a surging demand for real-world locations to trade Bitcoin – a sure sign of growing adoption, at least on paper.

Thanks to exorbitant fees, however, it is difficult to picture folks using the ATMs for the most common uses of Bitcoin today — retail and speculation. Unfortunately, the only economical use case for the machines that beats current options seems to be to launder money.

Just Who’s Using All These Bitcoin ATMs Anyway?

Bitcoin ATMs are being installed all around the world. With New York and Chicago adding new machines recently, the number of terminals according to CoinATMRadar now stands at almost 4,300. These machines are spread across a total of 75 countries. However, more than half of them are installed in the US.

It would be easy to look at the ever-swelling numbers of Bitcoin ATMs popping up around the world and simply draw the conclusion that this is evidence of increased adoption of the world’s most popular digital asset by market capitalisation.

However, when you consider that the average rate charged by one of the machines to make a purchase or sale of Bitcoin is in the region of 10 to 20 percent, it is difficult to imagine anyone using the terminals to take up a position in Bitcoin or to obtain some to make a quick online purchase. After all, who wants to pay an extra 10 to 20 percent to buy something or to make an investment? There are much cheaper ways to shop online and invest in Bitcoin.

 

Bitcoin ATMs: The Case for Adoption

That said, there is an argument to be made that the ATMs help to cement the idea of Bitcoin in the minds of the general public. For some people, a high-street presence is enough to convince them of the legitimacy of a predominately online service. The most popular and successful online bookmakers in the UK, for example, are those with prominent high-street locations.

There is also something to say for the speed and ease with which a Bitcoin transaction can be made using an ATM. If you just wanted to “see how this Bitcoin thing works” without going through the often-lengthy process of signing up to an exchange, an ATM represents a quick, simple way to buy just a small amount of BTC. This too is positive for adoption, although the huge fees make it unlikely that our hypothetical new Bitcoin convert will make subsequent purchases using such a machine. It therefore seems doubtful that those installing ATMs are doing so purely to drive adoption of the tech.

 

Bitcoin ATMs: The Consumerist Case

Another potential cause of the rising numbers of Bitcoin ATMs relates to the novelty of cryptocurrencies and their use at real-world terminals. A report on MarketPlace.org claims that business owners are installing Bitcoin ATMs to appeal to a wider range of customers than they might have typically drawn.

With the machines still being new and novel, the belief is that a younger, potentially better off group of people will visit the businesses installing them, simply to see one of the machines in action. Once inside the shop offering real-world Bitcoin trading, the visitor is much more likely to buy something.

This might well work out for the business owners. However, just like the above example of folks using the machines to experiment with the tech, it does not account for the huge sums of money moving through the machines, reported by Bloomberg in December last year. One firm offering the machines cited by the publication is believed to be generating around $35 million in revenue each year from machines.

 

Bitcoin ATMs: The Criminal Case

Although Bitcoin ATMs might well be driving adoption on a small scale (or at least familiarising people will the concept of crypto) and helping business owners attract a few extra customers, most of the evidence suggests that these terminals are being used for much more nefarious reasons.

Bitcoin ATM fee structures price many legal use cases out of the market.

The report in Bloomberg claims that many Bitcoin ATM providers blatantly disregard what scant financial regulation governs the fintech innovation. Arnold Spencer, a representative of Coinsource (one of the largest Bitcoin ATM operators in the world), believes that a huge number of Bitcoin ATMs are operating outside of the law and could be facilitating money laundering to the tune of up to $500 million each year.

Given the fact that most money laundering operations cost those involved around 30 percent of the total amount needing cleaning, a Bitcoin ATM provides a competitive solution for criminals. The speed and simplicity must also be appealing to those seeking to launder money too.

Owing to the fact that US regulators are still trying to get their heads around Bitcoin and have not the resources to tackle those terminals that illegally forgo identity checks and other regulative measures, it seems that the only real financial demand for the terminals is coming from criminals. This is clearly not a good look for the cryptocurrency given that those who champion it have spent much of its existence trying to distance the financial and technological innovation from its criminal past.

For the terminals to provide the kind of adoption many of us in the crypto space would love to see, the operators need to get real about their pricing structures. The machines themselves are not particularly expensive to buy outright – Bloomberg states that one can be picked up for a couple of thousand dollars. If those owning them were serious about Bitcoin, its adoption, and lessening the ratio of nefarious users to non-criminal ones, they need to drop the rates charged and fast.

 

Related Reading: Banks are Better than Bitcoin (When It Comes to Money Laundering)

Featured Images from Shutterstock.
Tweet123Share196ShareSend
Rick Delafont
Rick Delafont

Rick Delafont

Based in Europe, Rick has written about the cryptocurrency industry since 2016. He was first drawn to Bitcoin as a means of payment but quickly became fascinated by its wider potential implications. His interests lie in the political, economic, and social impact of the unfolding digital asset revolution.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

Related News

Solana (SOL) a un Bivio — Rimbalzo Probabile se i 142$ Tengono

Solana ha avviato un nuovo calo e ha ritestato la zona di supporto a 145$. Il prezzo di SOL ora...

clararosati 2 hours ago
Bitcoin price news

Bitcoin Seasonality: Why Summer 2025 Will Catch Everyone Off Guard

A growing number of Bitcoin and crypto market participants have fallen victim to a dangerous assumption: that summer in the...

Jake Simmons 2 hours ago

Solaxy登陸MEXC及多家中心化交易所 24小時內暴漲127%!

Solana 生態首個 Layer-2 公鏈專案Solaxy (SOLX)在過去 24 小時內暴漲逾 127%,漲勢由其正式登陸全球頂級交易所之一 MEXC的消息引爆。 Solaxy 於上月完成超 5...

estherw 2 hours ago
Load More

Reason to trust

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
How Our News is Made

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality

Ad discliamer

Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.

Related News

Bitcoin

Long-Term Bitcoin Holders Near Pain Point Last Seen In October 2024

Christian Encila 43 minutes ago
Beste crypto ETF's 2025 - welke nieuwe ETF goedkeuringen komen deze zomer?

Beste crypto ETF’s 2025 – welke nieuwe ETF goedkeuringen komen deze zomer?

Lars Diederiksen 1 hour ago
Strategy

Michael Saylor’s Strategy Set To Yield $14 Billion Profit In Q2, Bloomberg

Ronaldo Marquez 1 hour ago

Premium Sponsors

Press Releases

  • Hľadáte najlepšie kryptomeny na kúpu v roku 2025

    Hľadáte najlepšie kryptomeny na kúpu v roku 2025? Tu...

    11 minutes ago
  • Urgent Notice! ETHRANSACTION cloud mining revenue surges...

    1 hour ago
  • Fartcoin Đã Quá Trễ Để Mua Ở Mức Vốn Hóa $1...

    3 hours ago
  • 2025년 솔라나 밈코인 추천 - 솔라나 밈코인 순위 TOP 4

    Các Đồng Coin Tiềm Năng Sẽ Bùng Nổ Đầu Quý...

    3 hours ago
  • A legjobb kriptovalutákat keresed 2025-re? Íme 4 top választás a portfóliódhoz

    A legjobb kriptovalutákat keresed 2025-re? Íme 4 top...

    4 hours ago

Newsletter

Be the first to get the latest important crypto news & events to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

NewsBTC is a cryptocurrency news service that covers bitcoin news today, technical analysis & forecasts for bitcoin price and other altcoins. Here at NewsBTC, we are dedicated to enlightening everyone about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

We cover BTC news related to bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin mining and price forecasts for various cryptocurrencies.

Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Center

Social

© 2025 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play Games
  • Casinos
Advertise

© 2025 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.