Recently, authorities have noted an alarming surge in scams involving Bitcoin Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), with losses escalating by a factor of ten over the past three years. Additionally, data from the Federal Trade Commission indicated a growth in the loss to these scams, amounting to more than $110 million in 2023. In the first half of 2024 alone, Bitcoin ATM-related scams swindled an amount around $65 million. In response to the rising fraudulent activities, authorities launched stringent crackdown operations, compelling over 600 Bitcoin ATMs to shut down globally.
Australia, however, experienced a robust growth in the installation of cryptocurrency ATMs despite the risks, making it the third largest globally. Concurrently, Athena Bitcoin Global, a leader in the Bitcoin ATM industry, has raised accusations of extortion against its software provider, Genesis Coin.
Amid the scams, the number of crypto ATMs installed worldwide is nearing its all-time high, suggesting a proliferation in the industry despite the risks. Meanwhile, Coin Cloud, a Bitcoin ATM company, fell prey to a hacking incident, the details and depth of which are still unknown to the new owners.
Statistics reveal a significant rise in installed crypto ATMs for 2024, with 2,564 new machines added globally, reaching a peak of 38,000 globally. Companies like Bitcoin Depot continue to expand their footprint, recently surpassing 8,000 Bitcoin ATMs in operation. However, the start of the year observed an 11% shrinkage in installed Bitcoin ATMs, with 334 machines going offline globally.
ATM Coin News Analytics from Thu, 19 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT to Fri, 06 Sep 2024 13:27:56 GMT -
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