Nearly 800 Bitcoin ATMs were pulled off from the global network this year

The prolonged bear market, which grew into a full-scale crypto winter, has had a major domino effect on the crypto market throughout the year. So far, it has caused ecosystems to collapse, prices to crash down to a fraction of the height they had seen a year ago, and, apparently, it even impacted the Bitcoin ATM ecosystem.

Total number of BTC ATMs globally drops by nearly 800 in one month

According to the recent data from CoinATMRadar, the Bitcoin ATM readings from September 2022 have recorded negative growth in global net installations. This is the first time this has happened in history, and experts believe that the primary cause for it is the slowdown witnessed in the US.

Previously, the number of Bitcoin ATMs installed reached an all-time high in August of this year – only two months ago. At the time, there was a total of 38,776 ATMs. However, in September, their number dropped by 2.05%, to a new total of 37,980. In other words, 796 crypto ATMs were pulled off from the global network in the past month.

The US has recorded a reduction of 825 ATMs total, while Canada, Europe, and a number of other regions have seen significant drops also, although their impact was cushioned thanks to plenty of new installations that covered some of the missing machines, at least on a local level. Globally, however, there have been more ATMs that were removed from the network than the number of newly added ones, which seems rather discouraging at first.

However, data also indicates that nearly 14 new crypto ATMs have been installed around the world, per day, over the last 60 days. The large majority of 40.3% of ATMs were installed by a single company — Genesis Coin. Apart from this firm, other large manufacturers that hold a significant share of the market include BitAccess and General Bytes.

Why did the number of ATMs crash?

As for the reason why the number of ATMs has crashed so severely in the last month — there is no single event that can be pointed out as the sole cause. Experts believe that the combination of the bear market, geopolitical tensions, the lack of regulatory clarity, growing market uncertainties, and possibly other factors have all contributed. While Bitcoin ATM installations have taken a hit, it is worth noting that these are all external factors that will pass in time. There is no lack of interest in cryptocurrencies or crypto ATMs. Quite the opposite, in fact, as countries continue to show interest in having working crypto ATMs installed on their territories.

The most recent example of this is Japan, which previously cracked down on crypto ATMs back in 2014, only to make a decision to reintroduce them recently. The company that will lead their installation in the country is the crypto exchange Gaia Co, which operates within Japan’s borders and intends to install 50 ATMs by August 2023, primarily in Tokyo and Osaka.

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