In India, the regulator is preparing for a complete ban on the turnover of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin quotes somewhat support the good news from retail.
Over the past months, the number of machines for servicing cryptocurrencies has been increasing due to the hype in the market, as a result of which the price of bitcoin now fluctuates in the region of $ 59,000 to $ 60,000.
Operators of the automated services CoinFlip and Coin Cloud are installing thousands of them, densely combing the target audience areas.
So, the founder of Quad Coin, Mark Shoiket, says, "I just assumed that since there is a demand, people want to work with bitcoins everywhere." He recently visited Montana after another study of the US map. During a week of searching, he found seven places to install terminals, such as 406Glass, a tobacco and vape filler store.
According to an independent research website howmanybitcoinatms.com, there were 28,185 thousand terminals for working with cryptocurrency as of January. About 10,000 of them have been installed over the past six months.
The Americans themselves note that ATMs do not duplicate Internet services for servicing cryptocurrencies. Some are paid in cash, others lack bank accounts, others prefer bitcoins because of their anonymity, or use terminals to send funds abroad. In general, it is much more convenient for many people to have a cryptocurrency service terminal in their area of residence or work.
Rebecca White, a 51-year-old investor from Pittsburgh, uses bitcoin ATM machines when the family has spare cash. "If we have $ 60 left after shopping at the supermarket, I'd rather stop at a cryptocurrency ATM," she says.
Different terminals support different amounts of cryptocurrencies. Some, indeed, conduct an exchange in real time and give out the amount in cash in dollars.
Pamella Clegg, director of Financial Investigations and Training at CipherTrace, notes that fees are ranging from 6% to 20% of the transaction amount. The amount of the commission depends on the region and the operator. According to her, the market of cryptocurrency ATMs has gained 45% over the past six months. This is a real boom in the field of customer service.
Some government agencies already warn about the defects of certain brands of ATMs, as well as their operators, which violate the law and in one way or another fail the customer. However, despite these warning shots, the market is not even going to slow down.
Currently, every state has ATMs except Alaska, Coin ATM Radar notes. Especially developing in this direction are North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania, the outskirts of New Jersey and New York.
For example, Coin Cloud has about 1,500 machines and expects a six-fold increase in this figure by the end of the year.
"We expected the worst when Covid hit," says Coin ATM Radar CEO Chris Mcelary, " but the incentive payments saved the day."
Their direct competitor, CoinFlip, increased the number of terminals from 420 to 1,800 in the first quarter of this year. The number of transactions tripled during this period. This operator charges 6.99% for the purchase of cryptocurrency and 4.99% for the sale.
Bitcoin Depot also increased the total number of ATMs to 1,800. According to their data, most of their customers find service points via the Internet.
General Bytes, which produces automatic machines for servicing cryptocurrencies, could not meet all orders last summer due to a sharp increase in demand. Its representatives claim that 90% of their cars are sent to North America.
At the same time, not every ATM shows good attendance and pays for itself. So, Quad Coin removed about 200 units that did not bring profit. For example, in the Grassy Point Bar and Grill, New York, such a device is not even powered from the mains.
This news suspended today's fall of bitcoin due to the bill banning cryptocurrencies in India, and since the beginning of the US session, it is quoted in the corridor between $ 56,095 and $ 56,900.
And while bitcoin is in doubt, Microsoft shares are gaining thanks to news about possible new large government orders. At the same time, Danone keeps the EUR afloat.