Bitcoin ATMs fall by 17% globally
The number of bitcoin ATMs in circulation has fallen by 7,000 since the end of 2022 to 32,500, a 17% drop, according to a report by Coindesk.
Analysts give a variety of reasons for this drop, such as scammers utilizing bitcoin ATMs for fraudulent purposes. Brandon Mitz, CEO and founder of Bitcoin Depot, said in the report that some operators are turning off unprofitable ATMs.
However, he also said this creates an opportunity for consolidation. Recently, RockItCoin acquired FirstCoin ATM and Phoenix Crypto.
In addition, CoinATMRadar has shown a slow reversal of this downward trend. There has been a slow uptick of a few hundred bitcoin ATMs since July, which saw the largest decrease of more than 4,000 ATMs.