Examining the Turbulent Journey of Bitcoin ATM Installations in 2022

The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin ATMs

In 2022, the world of Bitcoin ATMs has seen a rollercoaster ride that could give even the cheesiest theme park a run for its money. After a peak in December 2021 with a record-breaking 1,971 installations, the numbers plummeted by a staggering 89.75%. How did we go from euphoria to ‘where did all the ATMs go?’ in just a few months? Well, let’s take a closer look.

May’s Surprising Drop

May 2022 brought the lowest number of new Bitcoin ATM installations since 2019, with a mere 202 machines added to the global count. Something tells us that the ATM industry wasn’t holding its breath for this news.

So Why the Slowdown?

A mix of factors contributed to this unexpected decline:

• Geopolitical Tensions: A little bit of conflict here and there can shake the ground under even the sturdiest of installations.
• Regulatory Uncertainty: Many businesses are like deer in headlights when faced with vague or negative crypto regulations.
• Saturation in Certain Markets: Remember the days of everyone and their grandma rushing to open a record store? Yeah, that scene is getting crowded.
• Pandemic Fallout: Let’s face it, COVID-19 left a lot of businesses reeling – ATMs included.

Hope on the Horizon?

But wait! In a dramatic twist befitting a soap opera, June saw a resurgence in ATM installations, with a whopping 817 new machines logged within the first five days alone. Sounds like someone hit the ‘restart’ button!

The Distribution of Bitcoin ATMs

Now, let’s talk geography because ATMs aren’t evenly spread like confetti at a parade. A whopping 87.9% of the world’s 37,826 crypto ATMs are planted firmly in the United States. Meanwhile, Europe lags behind with only 1,419 ATMs, which is a humble 3.8% of the global share.

Big Players in the Crypto ATM World

As for who’s leading the charge in the crypto ATM manufacturing realm, that badge goes to Genesis Coin, enjoying a market share of 41%. Others in the game include:

• General Bytes (21.6%)
• Bitaccess (16%)
• Coinsource (5.4%)
• Bitstop (4.7%)

Bitcoin Network: Still Going Strong

For all the chaos in ATM installations, the Bitcoin network remains robust. It has hit new heights with the Bitcoin Lightning Network (LN) reaching a jaw-dropping 3,915.776 BTC capacity. This creation, which started its journey in 2018, has been critical in reducing transaction fees and increasing transaction speeds, helping to tackle the scalability issues that Bitcoin is known for.