According to CoinDesk, the number of bitcoin ATMs installed worldwide has reached a two-year low this month, with data from AltIndex showing a 17% drop to 32,500 since the end of last year. The United States, which hosts the largest number of machines, experienced the biggest decline, now having approximately 26,700 machines. However, the US still has nearly 18 times the number of machines installed across the whole of Europe, which hosts around 1,500.
AltIndex attributes the decline to controversies surrounding the potential criminal use of bitcoin ATMs. Scammers may advertise goods for sale on sites like eBay, ask buyers to deposit funds into a specific bitcoin wallet through an ATM, and then disappear. Brandon Mintz, the CEO and founder of publicly traded bitcoin ATM operator Bitcoin Depot, believes the trend is due to some operators turning off unprofitable ATMs or going out of business altogether. He sees this as an opportunity for his company to increase market share through acquisitions and organic kiosk growth in additional retail locations.
