As the crypto industry anticipates a surge in Bitcoin interest post-halving, Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz predicts a significant resurgence in crypto ATM installations worldwide. This optimism follows a decline in 2023 amidst a challenging market environment.

Bitcoin ATM Market Poised for Recovery, Driven by Post-Halving Enthusiasm and Rising Installations

According to the CEO of a prominent Bitcoin ATM operator in Cointelegraph reports, the number of Bitcoin ATM installations will most likely increase globally following the Bitcoin halving, when crypto FOMO (fear of missing out) typically peaks.

Crypto ATM installations fell for the first time in a decade in 2023, owing to a bear market likely exacerbated by the collapse of several crypto firms.

However, Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz notes that 2024 has already begun with a bang, with 1,469 crypto ATMs installed in the first three months, compared to over 3,000 removed in 2023, as per CoinATMRadar data.

"It's looking really positive that the industry continues to see a lot of growth in kiosk count," stated Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz.

Mintz now predicts an industry-wide ATM rebound, with Bitcoin ack having already twice surpassed its all-time high in March.

In previous bull markets, Mintz noted that "later in the cycle, especially that period of FOMO that starts happening," is when crypto adoption surges, bringing in more customers.

"The adoption rate is really helpful because if more people are buying Bitcoin, then a portion of those are likely going to Bitcoin ATMs."

That, however, usually occurs later in the cycle, and according to Mintz, "it's still pretty early."

"We aren't even at the halving yet," he said, mentioning the event slated for late April when Bitcoin's mining rewards are cut 50%.

"In the past, more of the uptick we've seen has been after the halving," he added. "After the halving is when the price skyrockets the most, and that's when the FOMO phase starts."

While the number of ATMs has recently increased, Mintz claims that in the last 18 months, the number of ATM operators has decreased. One of the largest was Coin Cloud, which operated 5,000 ATMs and went bankrupt in February 2023.

"A lot more of them were struggling and went out of business than was shown publicly," he said.

He added that the drop "happened pretty quickly" after crypto exchange FTX collapsed in November 2022, dragging the crypto market.

Bitcoin Depot's fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results, released on March 25, showed full-year revenues up 7% yearly to $689 million, while net income fell 54% to $1.6 million. It also purchased 900 ATMs for installation in the first quarter of 2024, with plans to install 940 ATMs in convenience stores across 24 states in the US.

U.S. Dominates Global Crypto ATM Market Amid Evolving Bitcoin Investment Landscape

According to CoinATMRadar, the United States has nearly 83% of the world's 37,001 crypto ATMs, with more than 30,600. In January, the United States approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which some have hailed as a catalyst for institutional and retail investors looking to enter the Bitcoin market.

Mintz needed to be more aware of the impact the ETFs could have on Bitcoin ATMs. "We view it as a totally different customer base," he said.

"A large portion of our customer base transacts primarily in cash or only in cash because they're underbanked or unbanked," he added.

On the other hand, Bitcoin ETF buyers are "more high-income individuals with brokerages and brokers."

"[The] vast majority of all of our customers make less than $90,000 to $100,000 a year, so our customer base is not that likely to have a brokerage account or a broker and has not been likely to have just been sitting on the sidelines waiting for [an ETF] when it's so easy to just buy through a Bitcoin ATM," Mintz said.

Instead, he believes that the ETFs driving Bitcoin's price higher may increase ATM usage as Bitcoin adoption grows.

"If adoption increases, we think it likely translates to increased usage of Bitcoin ATMs. So in the grand scheme of things, I think it is way more helpful to us in our industry than it is in terms of impacting us in a negative way."