Number of Bitcoin ATMs globally approaches 40,000 despite sloppy markets

The growth rate of global installed cryptocurrency ATMs is slowly building up to hit the 40,000-mark as cryptocurrencies worldwide continue to grow in popularity.

According to data acquired by Finbold, 614 operators have installed 39,008 crypto ATMs across 77 countries, as per Coin ATM Radar data retrieved on August 8, 2022.

Q3 2022 shows a more positive trend despite the slowdown between Q1 2022 and Q2 2022, when the number of new crypto ATM installations dropped by 32.26%, from 2,362 to 1,600 machines.

Notably, this upward trend started in January 2017, when the figures were advancing towards 1,000 machines. It saw a real surge from September 2020, with a little below than 10,000 machines across the globe, and it continues to this day.

There are now over 39,000 crypto ATMs globally

As of the start of January 2017, when there were over 969 global crypto ATMs, the number of installations has grown by 3,925%. North America stayed ahead of the curve with 37,074 machines or 95% of all crypto ATMs worldwide. Around 3.8% of the global percentage of crypto ATMs operating today are in Europe, while 1.1% are covering other continents.

Of the total of 39,008 crypto ATMs, 38,996 of the machines support Bitcoin (BTC), while 33,051 also accept various altcoins.

What the future holds for crypto ATMs

After skyrocketing to an all-time high in the first half of 2021, Bitcoin (BTC) lost over 50% of its value in 2022.

Despite that, crypto ATM installations accelerated during 2021 prompted by the rising value of the market that persisted through the first half of 2022 and beyond.

In November 2021, crypto ATMs were under fire by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which issued a warning against online scammers capitalizing on crypto ATMs and QR codes to defraud their unsuspecting victims.

Moreover, in March 2022, The British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered for all crypto ATMs to be shut down inside the country or face further legal action.

In spite of this, with numbers building up to hit the 40,000-mark in the coming months, the future of crypto ATMs around the world seems to be gaining momentum after remaining unmoved by a challenging 2022.