Breaking the annual downward trend of bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency ATMs worldwide, May recorded a significant increase in the number of net installations, reaching around 1,400.
The total number of cryptocurrency ATMs has consistently declined over the first four months of 2023. During this period, major economies including the US and Europe contributed to the decline, while Australia, Poland and Spain stepped up their crypto ATM installations in their respective countries. region.
The chart above shows that in the first four months of 2023, there were 5,850 fewer net cryptocurrency ATMs worldwide.However, 1,397 machines were confirmed to have been re-added to the global crypto ATM network in May. data From coin ATM radar
Bitcoin ATMs do not contribute to the growth of the Bitcoin network, but serve as physical gateways for people to exchange fiat currency for cryptocurrency. In 2023 alone, Australia has installed a total of 233 ATMs, making it the third largest cryptocurrency ATM hub in the world.
Despite its low rate of reduction for the year, the US still holds the top spot with 84.7% of the world’s cryptocurrency ATMs, followed by Canada with 7.6%.
Related: Australia ranks third after US and Canada in number of cryptocurrency ATM installations
As of this writing, 35,069 ATMs are still in operation worldwide. Recently, hackers managed to gain access to sensitive information such as passwords, private keys and funds of Bitcoin ATM maker General Bytes.
“We are taking immediate steps to prevent further unauthorized access to our systems and are working vigorously to protect our customers,” General Bytes said in a statement.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, hackers managed to exfiltrate at least 56 BTC and 21.82 Ether (ETH). To avoid similar situations in the future, the company advised operators and customers to move to self-hosted server installations that can be protected with a VPN.
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