© Reuters Over 3,600 Bitcoin ATMs Shut Down in March
CriptoFácil – The market for ATMs (Bitcoin ATMs) and other cryptocurrencies experienced a historic milestone in March 2023, but from a negative point of view. This is because around 3,625 machines were turned off during the period.
According to Coin ATM Radar, this is the highest number of disconnections recorded in the history of the industry. In addition, this number is double the drop observed in the first two months of the year. After all, in January and February of this year, 1,588 and 275 Bitcoin ATMs were shut down, respectively.
While the number of active Bitcoin ATMs reached 33,728 on April 1, 2023, this is a 13% drop from early March.
The United States, Canada and Spain continue to be the countries with the highest number of machines. However, the reasons behind these disconnections are still unclear. Some speculate that the disconnection could be related to the bear market that affected the ecosystem in 2022. Meanwhile, others attribute the decline to the prospect of greater regulation in the sector.
ATMs de Bitcoin
The shutdown comes at a time when there are several calls to regulate the use of Bitcoin ATMs. Furthermore, the biggest shutdown in March coincided with the hack of the largest ATM operator, General Bytes. A hacker stole 56 BTC from the company, as well as other cryptocurrencies like , and . The total value exceeded US$ 1.5 million (R$ 7.6 million).
The decline in Bitcoin ATM disconnections also coincides with a drop in new equipment installation. BitAcces and Genesis Coin, which are the second and third most important companies in the market, respectively, with 20% and 17% share, have been decreasing the number of ATM installations.
BitAcces, for example, went from installing 8,139 machines at the beginning of the year to 6,808 in March 2023. Likewise, Genesis Coin went from installing 6,103 to 5,137 in the same period.
Furthermore, due to geopolitical tensions and decreasing revenue, other cryptocurrency ATM providers such as Bitcoin Depot are converting their physical ATMs to software.
By CriptoFacil