There are currently over 10,000 Bitcoin ATMs across the globe. The majority of them are found in the United States. Africa, however, is also home to a handful of Bitcoin ATMs. In this article, you will discover the complete list of places in Africa where you can buy bitcoin with fiat currency using a Bitcoin ATM.
What Are Bitcoin ATMs?
Bitcoin ATMs function like traditional cash machines with the difference being that instead of cashing out money from your bank account, you can buy and, in some cases, sell bitcoin against local fiat currency.
Bitcoin ATMs
Since March 1, 2020, the number of new Bitcoin ATMs installed worldwide is nearing 10,000. According to the latest data from Coin ATM Radar, the current number of machines stands at 16,835, a strong 57.5% increase, or 9,683 new machines, as compared with 7,152 last year.
Zimbabwe bitcoin atm In 2013, Canada received the world’s first Bitcoin ATM in the Waves Coffee Shop in Vancouver. Then, the following year, the first machine in the United States was introduced at a cigar bar in New Mexico. Two months later, Coinme installed another one in Washington that came with a money transmitter license. Since then, the market for Bitcoin ATMs started to steadily growing. There were 874 Bitcoin ATMs in Canada as of November 1, 2020.
2,342 Bitcoin ATMs United States
According to Coin ATM Radar, there were more than 2,342 Bitcoin ATMs in the United States as of January 2018, with some small shop owners earning a reported $300 a month for rental space. By August 2020, the number of crypto ATMs had more than tripled, to over 9,000.
South African bitcoin ATMs
As already mentioned above in the article, South Africa tops the list with 7 bitcoin ATMs which are spread across five cities. Cape Town has 3 ATMs, Pretoria has 2, and Nelspruit Johannesburg each has one ATM. Most ATMs in South Africa serves only as withdrawal channels.
Kenya
Kenya received its first Bitcoin ATM in 2018 in the country’s capital, Nairobi. Operated by the BitClub Network, it is also a fiat-to-crypto only ATM and a minimum of 500 Kenyan Shillings worth of bitcoin and litecoin can be purchased using the machine.
Uganda
The Kampala Post Office hosts Uganda’s only Bitcoin ATM, which is run by KIPYA Bit2Big, a local Blockchain company. Ugandans can use the ATM to buy bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ether.
Zimbabwe
Golix, the first ever cryptocurrency exchange in Zimbabwe and one of the biggest in Africa, also runs a Bitcoin ATM.
Based in the Golix offices in Harare, this machine provides an essential service in a cash-strapped country since it allows buying and selling of bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and litecoin.
Djibouti
Somewhat surprisingly, there is also a Bitcoin ATM in Djibouti. The currently only Bitcoin ATM in the small East African country is located at Appart Hôtel Moulk.
Interestingly, the ATM’s operator, Group DOS, plans to introduce two more Bitcoin ATMs in Djibouti. Group DOS CEO, Eleyeh Issa, told BitcoinAfrica.io that two new Bitcoin ATMs will be set up in the coming weeks, one at the airport and one at a shopping mall.
While Bitcoin ATMs tend to come with high fees, which makes them less appealing purchase option for larger investors, they do help to push adoption among smaller investors who want to get started with their first bitcoin investment. Based solely on its price history, bitcoin has been a winning investment. In January 2009, it had no value; 12 years later in February 2021, it surpassed $50,000 for the first time. However, it can move violently, and unlike traditional markets, there are no circuit breakers or closing bells to stop trading.
So now the trend of Bitcoin ATMs is not very prevalent. But it is still one of the best ways of buying Bitcoin without an ID. Some BTC ATMs don't require you to disclose your identity and they don't require facial or fingerprint identification. You can simply buy bitcoins from such ATMs in exchange for fiat currency.