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Brandon Mintz, CEO of Bitcoin (BTC) ATM operator Bitcoin Depot, predicts a global surge in Bitcoin ATM installations following the Bitcoin halving.
Mintz anticipates that the period after the halving, when crypto FOMO (fear of missing out) typically intensifies, will drive increased demand for Bitcoin ATMs.
In 2023, crypto ATM installations experienced their first-ever yearly decline in a decade, likely due to the bear market exacerbated by the collapse of several crypto firms.
However, the start of 2024 has already shown promising signs, with 1,469 crypto ATMs installed in the first three months alone, compared to the over 3,000 removed during the same period in 2023, according to data from CoinATMRadar.
FOMO to Drive Users to Bitcoin ATMs
Mintz expects the FOMO phase and increased adoption of cryptocurrencies to drive more customers to Bitcoin teller machines.
“It’s looking really positive that the industry continues to see a lot of growth in kiosk count.”
However, he believes it is still early in the cycle, as the halving event, scheduled for late April, approaches.
Historically, the uptick in Bitcoin adoption and ATM usage tends to occur after the halving, when the price of Bitcoin experiences significant growth.
While the number of teller machines has increased recently, Mintz notes that over the past 18 months, the number of ATM operators has actually decreased.
3 machines in a row at a local chain grocery.
I’m thinking Bitcoin ATM market may be saturated. pic.twitter.com/g4BWIxuHLr
— Neil ₿ 🦁 (@RoninMiner) March 28, 2024
The bankruptcy of Coin Cloud, a major operator with 5,000 ATMs, was one of the notable casualties.
Mintz attributes the decline to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, which had a significant impact on the crypto market.
Bitcoin Depot, in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results, reported a 7% increase in revenues compared to the previous year.
The company has plans to install 900 teller machines in the first quarter of 2024 and an additional 940 ATMs in convenience stores across 24 states in the United States.
Mintz believes that the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States will not negatively impact Bitcoin ATMs.
He views the ETF customer base as different from that of Bitcoin ATMs, with ATM users primarily transacting in cash.
Mintz suggests that the increased adoption and price growth driven by ETFs could actually lead to more ATM usage as Bitcoin adoption continues to rise.
Bitcoin ATM Hacks Become Prevalent
Bitcoin ATM scams are becoming increasingly prevalent, resulting in unsuspecting users losing substantial sums of money.
Last year, major Bitcoin teller machine manufacturer General Bytes experienced a security breach that led to $1.5 million worth of BTC stolen from a number of its crypto teller machine operators.
At the time, General Byes founder Karel Kyovsky said that a hacker was able to upload their own Java application onto the company’s Bitcoin ATMs, which allowed them to read and decrypt API keys to access funds on exchanges and hot wallets.
In August 2022, General Bytes also reported a hack that led to the theft of deposited Bitcoins at ATMs, which led to around $16,000 stolen.
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