Miami-based bitcoin ATM operator Bitstop announced Tuesday that it has partnered with Simon Property Group Inc., an American commercial real estate company and the largest shopping mall operator in the country, to bring a fleet of bitcoin ATMs to various shopping destinations. 

As part of the deal, Bitstop said it has installed bitcoin ATMs at the following malls: Carlsbad Premium Outlets in Carlsbad, California; Miami International Mall in Miami, Florida; Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida; The Avenues in Jacksonville, Florida; and Mall of Georgia in Buford, Georgia.

In a news statement, Andrew Barnard, Bitstop cofounder and CEO, said the installations made it convenient for shoppers to buy bitcoin over the holidays, calling bitcoin "the perfect gift" for family and friends.  

Last month, Bitstop deployed a bitcoin ATM at the Miami International Airport. The company said it now has more than 130 bitcoin ATM locations across the country, and aims to expand its network to more than 500 locations by the end of next year. 

As ATM Marketplace reported earlier this month, the number of bitcoin ATMs installed worldwide hit a milestone this year. There are now more than 6,000 bitcoin machines around the globe, and 60% are located in the U.S. 

Still, Bitstop's expansion comes at a time when the Internal Revenue Service is monitoring bitcoin ATMs and looking into compliance.

"What we're seeing now is that the first round of IRS subpoenas have gone out to the bitcoin ATM operators asking for compliance documentation," Bill Repasky, a lawyer with Frost Brown Todd, a Louisville, Kentucky, law firm that provides legal counsel for bitcoin ATM operators, told ATM Marketplace.  

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