For the first time since the crypto winter of 2018, bitcoin (BTC) ATMs are returning to Japan, allowing residents of Tokyo and Osaka to trade cryptocurrency from sources other than their phones and computers.
Previously common in major commercial locations, cryptocurrency ATMs—also referred to as BTMs in Japan and elsewhere—became less popular after the devastating Coincheck hack in early 2018 brought the Japanese crypto sector to its feet.
Because to the Mt. Gox crisis in 2013 —2014, which damaged investor confidence, cryptocurrency investments fell out of favour in the years that followed. As a result, in the months following the Coincheck event, BTMs were closed and deactivated in Japan, which was previously the centre of gravity for the cryptocurrency markets.
It’s now been four years since a BTM has operatedin Japan, according to Mainichi and Nikkei. Today, however, such is no longer the case thanks to the installation of machines in both Tokyo and Osaka.
The corporation behind the move, Gaia BTM, revealed in a news statement that traders will be able to buy or sell bitcoin (BTC), as well as ethereum (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), and litecoin (LTC).
Gaia BTM asserted that it would carry on installing equipment across the nation in the months to come with the goal of having 50 BTMs operational in a year. In the following three years, it also plans to increase that number to 130. The firm said that it had incorporated “anti-crime measures” into the devices to prevent any potential money-laundering attempts.
Withdrawals will be permitted in 1,000 yen ($7.64) increments, with a $764 transaction limit. The daily withdrawal limit for users will likewise be $2,290.
The company’s CEO was reported as saying that BTMs give cryptocurrency investors a “feeling of security” since they let them to “immediately convert their [cryptoassets] into cash.”