Source: AdobeStock / Alexei
Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs are returning to Japan for the first time since the 2018 crypto winter, with citizens of Tokyo and Osaka finally able to trade crypto from machines other than their phones and PCs.
Crypto ATMs, commonly known as BTMs in Japan and elsewhere, used to be commonplace in major trading hubs but fell out of favor after the disaster coin acceptor Hack in early 2018 brought the Japanese crypto industry to its knees.
Crypto investing fell out of favor in the aftermath, with confidence already shaken Mount Gox Incident from 2013-14. For example, in Japan, once the gravitational center of the crypto markets, BTMs were shut down and shut down in the months following the Coincheck incident.
According to Mainichi and Nikkei, it has been four years since a BTM has operated in Japan. But that’s no longer the case today – with machines now installed in both Tokyo and Osaka.
In a press release Gaia BTMthe company behind the move, announced that the machines will allow traders to buy or sell BTC, as well as Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC).
Gaia BTM claimed it will continue to roll out machines across the country in the coming months and is aiming to have 50 BTMs operational within a year. In addition, this number is to be increased to 130 in the next three years.
The media noted that this would mark a new first for the Japanese crypto industry, as no Japanese firm recognized by the regulator has ever operated BTMs in the country — all previous devices were the invention of foreign firms or unregistered domestic entities.
Osaka-based Gaia BTM is also a licensed crypto exchange – meaning the company can use its own trading platform to conduct transactions.
The company added that it had “crime prevention measures” built into the devices to identify possible money laundering activities.
Withdrawals are permitted in units of 1,000 yen (US$7.64), with a transaction limit of US$764. Users’ daily withdrawals will also be capped at $2,290.
The company’s CEO was quoted as saying that BTM’s give crypto investors a “sense of security” as they allow people to “convert their cryptocurrencies.” [cryptoassets] immediately in cash.”
The company added that it wants to “expand” into the crypto-related payments space, claiming that coins like BTC have the potential to become “payment currencies.”
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Learn more:
– Japanese crypto exchanges looking to abandon restrictive token listing protocols
– Japanese trust banks are expected to receive permission to handle crypto starting in the fall
– State-owned El Salvador Bank Accepts 200 Bitcoin ATMs as Collateral for $1.5M Loan – Report
– US agency calls for stricter regulation of crypto ATMs
– Coincheck Hack: “The biggest theft in the history of the world”
– Mt. Gox trustee is nearing payout and asking creditors for payment details
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