Bloomberg: Australia leads the world in the growth of cryptocurrency ATMs

PANews reported on August 30th, according to Bloomberg, Bitcoin ATMs are flooding into Australia, making the country the fastest-growing market for these machines and raising questions about the source of demand for this controversial service.

According to data from Coin ATM Radar, the United States dominates most of the market with approximately 32,000 cryptocurrency ATMs. Canada is next with around 3,000. Australia ranks third with nearly 1,200 cryptocurrency ATMs - a significant increase from just 73 two years ago - and more are under construction. In an August call with analysts, Brandon Mintz CEO of US-based Bitcoin Depot Inc., said that his company has over 200 cryptocurrency ATMs in Australia waiting to be deployed after regulatory approval.

Data from Coin ATM Radar shows that recent growth in Australia leads globally. Operators believe these machines promote financial inclusion by providing convenient access to cryptocurrencies. However critics point out risks such as money laundering and user fraud leading to losses associated with these machines. Countries like UK and Singapore have already banned them while Germany is taking action against them.