Cryptocurrency ATMs in Russia and the world, geography and location of manufacturers

The total number of ATMs for the purchase of cryptocurrencies installed over the past three years has increased by 700%. This is indicated by data from the Drive Markets Exchange. Thus, according to the company's calculations, on January 1, 2016, 501 automatic machines for digital coins functioned, and in 2019 the number of crypto receivers worldwide reached 4,128.

According to experts, this trend is connected with the growing popularity and level of trust in the crypto industry and the simplicity and accessibility of using the devices themselves as compared to exchanges for digital assets .

How does a cryptocurrency ATM work?

The exchange of assets in a crypto ATM is usually more expensive than online transactions in cryptocurrency exchangers and on exchanges, since the cost of the infrastructure itself is higher: the creation and installation of a real ATM, as well as the steps that are necessary to convert fiat money and bitcoins .

All crypto ATMs have a similar buying process :

• Verification phase (optional, may vary significantly depending on ATM type)
• Obtaining a Bitcoin address for making a deposit (can be generated and printed / sent by email, but it’s better to have it with you before using the device)
• Cash in ATM
• Confirmation of operation (Bitcoin went to your address)

This process may vary for each ATM.

What are crypto ATMs and what are they for?

The leading companies for the production of bitcoin-machines assure that ATMs are really needed by users in those countries where there is no high-quality Internet connection. It is said that despite the essence of the blockchain industry, which excludes intermediaries, their market with the physical presence of “iron” in the form of ATMs is alive and well.

Matthias Goldenhorn, director of operations for Athena Bitcoin in Latin America, says that their market is alive and well, and the ATMs themselves "are becoming a real alternative to banks, because the machines turned out to be resistant to price fluctuations."

Indeed, crypto-cash machines look like bank terminals for receiving and issuing money and operate according to the same principle of “deposit-withdrawal” of currency. The only difference is that instead of a plastic card, a crypto wallet is used , to which funds are received or debited.

ATMs work with such coins as Bitcoin , Ethereum , Litecoin , Bitcoin Cash , Zcash , Dash , Monero , Dogecoin . This is due to the popularity of the assets themselves and the sponsorship educational initiative on the part of the state. For example, as an experiment, Dash allocated more than $ 900,000 in grants to Brazil and Venezuela to develop and stimulate their economies.

Jorge Farias, the general director of the Panamanian startup for the production of Bitcoin machines at Cryptobuyer, is confident that government support helps the entire crypto industry and, in particular, crypto ATMs, which will make the purchase and exchange of digital assets a more accessible process for all categories of the population.

To use a crypto-ATM, you need to have a digital wallet , which will be credited. The devices themselves provide an opportunity to choose the language and the desired currency, and the commission for the work is automatically assigned – often the figure varies from 4% to 10%, depending on the rules of the device manufacturer. But the operator fee can be changed for an additional fee.

Co-founder of BitAccess cryptocurrency ATMs Mo Adham believes that such machines, which support several assets in their functionality, provide almost instant liquidity for cryptocurrencies. After all, thanks to the rapid exchange of those users who are outside the zone of access to high-speed and permanent Internet, can use the crypto-ATM, and always maintain purchasing power. Adham is confident that crypto ATMs can be a kind of communication tool for the industry and provide a pay list.

Geography location and major manufacturers

Most crypto ATMs are currently located in North America: in the United States (2532) and in Canada (700). There are about 500 crypto terminals in Europe: in Austria (262), in the UK (290), in Spain (80). Despite these statistics, demand from Latin American, Asian markets and users from Australia is growing rapidly, operators of bitcoin machines say.

Thus, the net profit of the manufacturer Athena in 2018 was $ 3 million after the installation of 25 new cars in Latin America. Indeed, according to Athena representatives, for example, in the USA, the company's customers mostly use crypto-ATMs to buy Bitcoins, and in Colombia, on the contrary, people use an ATM to withdraw cash.

BitAccess, the fourth largest cryptomaker, plans to expand its portfolio of available assets to 70 coins. The company, which was founded in 2014, recently noticed that the use of ATMs does not depend on the volatility of the bitcoin market. After all, the price of the first cryptocurrency over the past 12 months has repeatedly decreased, but the demand for the functionality of crypto-machines has increased with each month.

For example, the demand and use of BitAccess ATMs increased by more than 9% in November 2018, despite the fall in Bitcoin's market value to $ 6,000. Since March 2018, the average amount of purchases and sales of assets remained relatively constant and ranged from $ 100 to $ 250. About the growing demand for crypto-ATM services and says the company Lamassu. The indicators are most likely to grow in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. For the company, popular destinations are Singapore, Malaysia and Israel.

The manufacturer of crypto ATM BitAccess, where Mo Adham works, is the fourth most popular among companies that build and sell terminals for working with digital coins. According to the Coin ATM Radar website, 243 BitAccess machines are located in several states of the United States, in European countries and in Australia. The first place in the implementation of crypto ATMs is the American company Genesis Coin. Their terminals in the amount of 1347 units are located all over the world, in particular, in Latin America and in the countries of Asia.

Genesis1's most popular crypto ATM from Genesis Coin is an ATM with all the necessary AML / KYC identity verification functions, and therefore you need to have a passport with you. Upon request, an additional fingerprint scanner, the ability to check via SMS, an ID card reader and a high-definition camera can be added to the equipment to comply with current legal standards.

The ATM supports three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin. Cash withdrawal is limited to 6800 bills. The price of one terminal is from $ 14,500.

It is noteworthy that for the distribution of its equipment one Genesis1 ATM was donated by the Botswana crypto community.

The second place in terms of the number of crypto-machines sold is taken by the Czech company General Bites. Most of the 1,290 ATMs due to the location of the company are located in Europe.

At the moment, there are two bitcoin-machines in the assortment of General Bites: BATMTwo and BATMThree. Both are based on the Android operating system. In addition to the KYC / AML procedure, the client must provide their email. User verification is carried out by operators and takes about 15 minutes.

Lamassu, which has recently changed its place of registration and has moved to Switzerland and is now called Lamassu Industries AG, closes the list of leaders in the production of cryptomats. The company has been operating since 2013 and managed to sell 434 cars, which are now located around the world. In particular, in the USA, the countries of Latin America and Asia, the Republic of South Africa, Australia and Iceland.

The first model of a crypto-ATM Lamassu called Trofa worked as a vending machine for buying Bitcoin with the inability to convert digital coins into fiat money. However, in May 2014, the company announced it was updating its product by launching an additional floor stand for cash dispensing at ATMs called Santo Tirso for a standard Bitcoin vending machine that looks like a terminal for fiat assets. Crypto-ATM allows you to store up to thousands of bills.

Legal difficulties

As demand grows for crypto-ATMs, which are used to buy digital assets, convert cash, and transact across borders, regulators in different countries are increasingly paying attention to the activities of bitcoin terminals.

The company Lamassu changed registration due to persistent difficulties with banking services. The head of the company, Zag Harvey, said that 15 banks had rejected his company only because Lamassu was creating terminals for Bitcoin. Moreover, the company only produces hardware, is engaged in technological support of the market, and not in trading or storing cryptocurrencies.

In October 2018, Indian police arrested the co-founder of the local exchange Unocoin because of the opening of a crypto ATM in the city of Bangalore. Despite the absence of violations, Sattvik Viswanath reported that the police confiscated the crypto-machine because of the incomprehensible situation with the need for a license.

Such situations and regulatory difficulties are exacerbated by questions about the classification of cryptocurrencies as those or other types of assets. The jurisdictions of the countries of the world have still not definitively legalized the status of digital assets and their components to the crypto industry. At the moment, the regulation of the cryptocurrency market puts the legitimacy of using Bitcoin automata at risk.

Often, shopping centers that have crypto-ATMs installed receive a lot of warnings from supervisory authorities about violation of the law. However, there are no official documents that terminals for digital assets are illegal. Legislative and supervisory authorities at the sight of the word “bitcoin” are beginning to be frightened and look for violations that would go under articles on money laundering and fraud, says Sattvik Vishwanath, who was arrested by the police.

The situation with cryptocurrency ATMs in Russia

The first cryptometer in Russia was installed four years after the appearance of such equipment in the world, in January 2017 in Ufa. Earlier, in 2016, a group of activists from the LocalBitcoin platform had attempts to organize a bitcoin exchanger . Transactions were made exclusively in private, in the exchanger lined up. Despite its popularity among users, in 2017 the “stationary exchanger” closed due to the unprofitability of the idea.

According to the Coin ATM Radar website, there are 51 crypto-ATMs in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Voronezh and other cities now operating in the Russian Federation.

Local Bitcoin-ATMs are operating in Russia, which collect their own equipment for working with digital assets. One of the first companies that took up crypto-terminals in Russia was Malavita with the trade name RusBit.

According to the documents , the firm, based in Bashkiria, develops authoring Russian-made software for the exchange of cryptocurrencies for RusBit cryptomats, implements, delivers and installs its cryptomattes in regions of the Russian Federation to test the original version of the cryptocurrency exchange system.

The company undertakes to provide free advice and reliable information to the population of the Russian Federation about cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency exchanges, fraudulent schemes for the exchange of cryptocurrencies, types of mining. In the autumn of 2017, at the request of the Prosecutor's Office, an on-site office audit of the Inspection of the Federal Tax Service Inspection and the Economic Crime Department of the Malavita company was conducted. As a result of the inspection, violations in the company’s work were not revealed, since the Russian manufacturer, like foreign companies, is engaged in the production of equipment, and not in the storage of cryptocurrency.

One crypto ATM costs from 135,000 to 175,000 rubles. Commission for the transaction is 4−6%. In September last year, the company began selling software that can be installed on Qiwi terminals.

Another manufacturer and supplier of crypto ATMs, BBFpro, has been operating since 2017 and is based in Krasnodar. The company offers two cars with already built-in software worth 160,000 and 280,000 rubles.

BBFpro promises to connect a cryptomat to any crypto-exchange, the ability to connect other software, free system updates, 24-hour support. Royalty, that is, the percentage of revenue, is 1%. At the moment, the project has sold 46 crypto-ATMs, the average commission for which is 7%. According to BBFpro, about 450 operations are performed at one terminal every day.

In general, the global trend for increased demand of cryptomatics is supported in Russia, as local manufacturers of equipment for digital assets have emerged, which provide a full working cycle from the assembly of equipment to its implementation. In addition, the documentation of projects does not cause suspicion of law enforcement. Probably, the distribution of crypto-terminals will help make digital assets a more accessible resource for even more users.

Publication date 30.01.2019
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