Bitcoin ATMs Continue to Spread in the United States
The cryptocurrency ATMs are growing in number as consumer expectations of ATMs change.
The milestone ATM was installed in Las Vegas, Nev., and allows customers to buy or sell a variety of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, etherium and others. The kiosks exchange digital bitcoins into U.S. dollars or dollars into bitcoins, the company said.
“We are strategically expanding our network to meet demand,” RockItCoin CEO and founder Michael Dalesandro said. “We are looking to double in size through new machine placements and acquisitions.”
“We have decided to focus on the cryptocurrencies our customers request the most, but we can easily offer additional ones through the machine if necessary,” Dalesandro added.
Customers must provide proper identification and validation via text message to use the machines, according to RockItCoin, which also offers a digital wallet.
The milestone is one of many recent signs of growth in the cryptocurrency ATM market. Another company, Coinsource, operates a network of over 180 similar kiosks in 17 states and the District of Columbia, for example; competitor Coinme reportedly installed its 50th cryptocurrency ATM last month.
In total, there are currently over 2,100 bitcoin ATMs operating in the United States, according to Coin ATM Radar, which tracks the growth of bitcoin ATM locations. They’re in almost every state, and there are well over 200 in New York City, around 300 in Los Angeles and about 200 in Chicago, according to the site. Five or six new ones are installed every day, it added, and the average fee is 8.69%.
The growing number of cryptocurrency ATMs is one of many signs of the ongoing and dramatic technological shift in ATM technology in general. In recent years, companies have been testing everything from biometric face scans to holograms and terminals that don’t have any card readers at all.
Consumer expectations are also changing.
A recent Fiserv survey found, for example, that more than a third of people (37%) are interested in cardless ATM withdrawals, and 35% wish they could transfer funds from one ATM to another for someone else to pick up.
Another report, from ATM Marketplace and Italian software provider Auriga last year, found that 70% of people wanted ATMs to offer cash in denominations other than just $20 bills, and 39% wanted ATMs to perform real-time transactions. The survey also found 34% wanted biometric identification to replace PIN entry, and 32% wanted check-cashing capabilities. About one in four said they wanted an email receipt option and 19% wanted bill pay.
Traditional ATM operators are also increasingly focused on making their terminals do more than just dispense cash and provide account balances.
For instance, CO-OP Financial Services, which manages a network of almost 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs, does not have any bitcoin-enabled ATMs under management via its CO-OP Terminal Driving Services, and a spokesperson said the organization is unaware of any bitcoin-enabled ATMs within the CO-OP ATM network. But it did recently announce that it is rolling out a new “Cardless Cash Access” feature for its ATM terminal driving services, which will allow members to stage ATM cash withdrawals via mobile app. When members arrive at the ATM, they scan a QR code with their mobile app to authenticate the transaction and retrieve their cash.