Argentina plans to install 4,000 Bitcoin ATMs, hoping to surpass the United States and set a new record?

According to Bitcoinist, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) has relaxed the country’s regulations on ATMs this month. By then, Argentina will install 4,000 digital currency ATMs.

Odyssey Group, one of the first participants in the new regulations, installed 200 digital currency ATMs in Argentina last year, allowing the conversion of BTC, ETH, and LTC. After the new regulations are implemented, digital currency ATMs may be able to convert between legal currency and digital currency.

The main function of a digital currency ATM is to connect to the Internet to enable offline currency-to-currency transactions and transactions between legal currency and digital currency . This is very different from the functions of ordinary bank ATMs. In other words, a digital currency ATM is a built-in wallet with a built-in cryptocurrency trading system.

At present, most digital currency ATMs around the world only support Bitcoin transactions, while ATMs in some regions also support other mainstream currencies such as BCH, XRP, ETH, LTC, etc. In the future, global ATMs are expected to open more types of digital currency trading services.

However, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the transaction fees charged by digital currency ATMs are very high . According to coinatmradar, the average transaction fee of Bitcoin ATMs is as high as 6%, and the transaction fee can be as high as $50. Despite the high transaction fees, the current global expansion of Bitcoin ATMs has not slowed down due to its faster transaction speed, better flexibility and convenience.

According to Coinatmradar, the installation of Bitcoin and other digital currency ATMs has surged in recent months. As of February 2018, there were 2,177 Bitcoin ATMs worldwide, with an average of 5 new Bitcoin ATMs added every day, while on January 1, 2017, there were only 954 worldwide.

If 4,000 digital currency ATMs are successfully installed in Argentina, in terms of quantity , it will surpass the United States and is expected to become the country with the most Bitcoin ATMs; according to Argentina's total population in 2016, Argentina's digital currency ATM coverage rate reached about 91 per million residents. In terms of coverage , it is expected to surpass San Marino (33 per million residents) and become the country with the highest coverage rate after Anguilla (667 per million residents).

In terms of national policy, Argentina has always been supportive of digital currency . Guillermo Torrealba, CEO of Chilean digital currency service company Buda, said that he has received banking support in Argentina and that some bank executives in Argentina are dedicated to digital currency companies.

However, at present, relevant regulatory measures have not kept pace with the growth rate of digital currency ATMs around the world . Due to the regulatory gap, there are many risks to the security of digital assets.

In December last year, according to the London Metropolitan Police, drug dealers are using virtual currency ATMs in London to hide their criminal proceeds. Criminals can directly exchange cash for virtual currency at these ATMs without worrying about alerting law enforcement agencies like depositing large sums of cash in a bank. In February this year, a Bitcoin ATM theft occurred in Kuala Lumpur, involving more than 1 million ringgit (about 160,000 yuan).

Some industry insiders believe that Bitcoin ATM is a huge gold mine that has not yet been developed on a large scale. But in the near future, will the disordered digital currency ATMs face the hand of regulation?