Public opinion about bitcoin ATM business varies, but mostly it is split into two radical sides: either “machines are not used by anyone and hence operators don’t make any money”, or “the fees charged are usually so huge, probably operators do a lot of money”. Obviously, both extremes do not correspond to reality, as if it was not profitable, there would be not that many businesses doing this long term, on the other hand, the fee size is dictated by market and there are plenty of various costs and risks associated with this business.

In this post we analyze historical data available on the website about operators growth and closure of activities. We analyze activity of total 870 operators on the website, since October 2013, when the first publicly accessible ATM was installed, and up to the end of January 2020.

The chart above summarizes information, that is used as a source for analysis — number of ATMs installed by each operator on the 1st day of each calendar month.

In this video, you will hear Adam from BC Systems talking about what profits you can expect, as well as the cost options and operating your very own Bitcoin ATM Company.

He divided his presentation into four parts: Location, Cost, Marketing and Fees.

Location

Location is probably the most important part of the planning and operating your Bitcoin ATM Company. Of course, there are different variables when it comes to choosing a location like foot traffic, competition, and potential fees. In his experience shopping malls are the most successful locations for a couple of reasons.

First of all their working hours. They are usually open from 8 A.M. to 9 P.M. and they also tend to work on holidays, so the overall availability of the machines is going to be excellent.

Secondly, shopping malls present a safe place for people. When they go to a public place, where there is a lot of crowd, they feel like they are going somewhere reputable and feel much safer than going to let’s say a liquor store or a smoke shop where there aren’t usually a lot of other people around. This is especially true for guys who are making large transactions, they always want to feel safe and comfortable carrying their money.