(Editor's note: An earlier version of this article ran on
Although bitcoin has taken a hit recently due in part to recent comments from
Bitcoin's price fell Friday 6% to
Bitcoin ATMs, however, have experienced continuous, significant growth since 2013.
As of
Sonny Meraban, CEO of Bitcoin of America, a bitcoin ATM operator, told
"Anywhere that we're able to put a machine, it's doing well for us because of the strength of bitcoin now. We're able to put the kiosks every couple of miles apart from each other, in every city, and we're able to do good business there and they're able to sustain themselves," he said in an email. "We've got about 1,200 machines now and our goal by the end of the year is to have 2,500 throughout the country."
Retail benefits
For retailers looking at deploying Bitcoin ATMs, there are some immediate benefits, such as commissions. Meraban said that some retailers can make up to
"Obviously, good locations are going to make more and poor locations will make less. By better locations, I mean higher foot traffic places," Meraban said. "You'll sell more cigarettes, candy and water the busier that your shopping center is compared to one that isn't as busy. The same applies to selling more or less bitcoin with the ATMs and tablets."
Self operate or revenue share?
There are a number of ways retailers and others can operate a bitcoin ATM. They can either operate it themselves or do a revenue share program or any other variety of options. There are some downsides to revenue sharing, according to
"The advantage to choosing a revenue share or partner program is you can get started quickly," Barnard said in a story on
Merabon's company in particular offers a tablet bitcoin ATM that can help out smaller stores, such as hair salons or mom and pop stores.
"With businesses like those, maybe they only do four or five transactions a month, or even 10, but when they made
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