Coinsource, the largest Bitcoin ATM networks in all of the US which operates 117 Bitcoin ATMs throughout the country, has installed yet another ATM in Arizona, local publications including ABC15 Arizona reported.
In an interview, Bobby Sharp, the co-founder of Coinsource, explained that Bitcoin ATMs are popular amongst beginner and casual Bitcoin users and traders that have difficulty at times due to the nonphysical nature of Bitcoin.
More to that, Bitcoin trading platforms and service providers are required to implement and integrate strict Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) system that demand customers to provide documents such as bank statements and licenses that may be difficult to obtain and acquire.
Sharp told ABC15, an Arizona outlet of ABC, a major US broadcasting company:
"I even had a hard time with it! It's not physical. In the beginning, there were some bad eggs who got ahold of this and there still are. But I would argue when someone pulls a twenty dollar bill out of an ATM, you don't know where that goes either.”
Useful globally
Like Arizona and many other US states, other regions including Hong Kong also have several Bitcoin ATMs in place. In an interview with Cointelegraph, operators of South Korea’s two Bitcoin ATMs previously explained that Bitcoin ATMs are especially popular amongst travelers that are looking to transfer Bitcoin into cash.
It is difficult to sign up to regional Bitcoin exchanges and liquidate Bitcoin to cash that way because most trading platforms require banking accounts in their respective countries. Hence, Bitcoin ATMs, which do not require any additional information from users, have been proven to be useful to travelers.
Most Bitcoin ATMs are located in malls or popular tourist destinations for the reasons above. Bitcoin ATM operators and manufacturers are well aware that Bitcoin ATMs have become increasingly popular with users that do not fit the requirements of established trading platforms.
After all, Bitcoin is set out to become an alternative financial network to banking systems and the global financial system and the requirement of bank documents and accounts can become stressful and burdensome for many users.
Partnerships
At the moment, some regional Bitcoin service providers including Coins.ph are also actively collaborating with banks and bank ATM operators in order to provide better methods for users to cash out Bitcoin utilizing Bitcoin ATMs.
Coins.ph for instance has partnered with the Philippines’ Security Bank to allow customers to cash out Bitcoin via thousands of nationwide bank ATMs. In South Korea, Coinplug partnered with Hyosung to enable users to cash out Bitcoin via tens of thousands of convenience store ATMs.
Throughout the US and internationally, the demand toward Bitcoin ATMs and cryptocurrency-supporting ATMs is increasing at a rapid rate. Companies such as Coinsource are continuing to provide Bitcoin-specific ATMs for efficiency, while Bitcoin service providers are trying to partner with more banks in order to utilize existing bank ATMs to provide Bitcoin ATM services to more users.