May broke the year-long trend of declining Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto ATMs around the world, and saw a precipitous rise in net installations, with nearly 1,400 ATMs.
The total number of crypto ATMs saw a steady decline in the first four months of 2023. While major economies like the United States and Europe contributed to the declining numbers during this period, Australia, Poland, and Spain increased the installation of crypto ATMs in their respective regions.
A histogram chart showing the net change in the number of cryptocurrency engines installed and removed monthly. Source: Coin ATM Radar
The chart above shows that in the first four months of 2023, the net number of crypto ATMs worldwide decreased by 5,850. However, in May, 1,397 machines were added back to the global crypto ATM network, data from Coin ATM Radar confirms
While bitcoin ATMs don’t contribute to the growth of the bitcoin network, they serve as a physical gateway for people to exchange their fiat currencies for crypto. In 2023 alone, Australia installed a total of 233 ATMs, becoming the third largest crypto ATM hub in the world.
Despite a small year-on-year decline, the United States retains its top spot — providing 84.7% of the world’s crypto ATMs, followed by Canada at 7.6%.
Related: Australia ranks third in crypto ATM installation after the US and Canada
At the time of writing, 35,069 ATMs are still operational worldwide. Recently, a hacker managed to gain access to sensitive information belonging to Bitcoin ATM maker General Bytes, including passwords, private keys, and funds.
“We have taken immediate action to prevent further unauthorized access to our systems and are working diligently to protect our customers,” General Bytes said in its statement.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, the hacker managed to siphon off at least 56 BTC and 21.82 Ether (ETH). To avoid a similar situation in the future, the company advised its operators and customers to migrate to a self-hosted server installation that can be secured by a VPN.
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