Data shows that El Salvador ranks third in Bitcoin ATM installations worldwide

El Salvador currently has the third largest network of crypto ATMs after the US and Canada, accounting for 70% of all crypto ATMs in South America.

According to data from Coin ATM Radar, El Salvador has surpassed the UK’s crypto ATMs, having deployed 205 crypto ATMs to date to facilitate local Bitcoin transactions and conversions. BTC in US dollars.

A comparison with Statista data from August 16 shows that El Salvador successfully installed 201 ATMs in just one month. Previously, the country ranked 43rd on the list with just four crypto ATMs.

President Nayib Bukele previously stated that the initial rollout of Bitcoin will be supported by a network of 200 ATMs and 50 branches. The Salvadoran government has partnered with an in-house crypto wallet provider called Chivo to run BTC wallets and ATM use in the country.

The number of installations of cryptocurrency ATMs worldwide is at an all-time high of 27,664 in operation and 2,790 new machines in September. El Salvador’s increase in ATM installations is in line with the President’s recent ordinance requiring all businesses to accept payments in Bitcoin. However, merchants still have the option to convert Bitcoin payments to USD before withdrawing their earnings.

While other jurisdictions have not yet decided on a use case for Bitcoin as the primary asset, an average of 63.7 ATMs are still installed around the world every day. Genesis Coin remains the leading crypto ATM maker with a market share of 40.7%, while General Bytes and BitAccess account for 22.7% and 12.7% of the market, respectively.

Related: Protesters burn Bitcoin ATMs as part of a protest against the President of El Salvador

The introduction of bitcoin in El Salvador encountered some resistance from locals, which recently resulted in the burning of a Chivo-supported bitcoin machine. Opponents of Bitcoin adoption highlight concerns about uncertainty, price volatility and lack of exposure to the cryptocurrency market.

The Chivo kiosk is the government’s first attempt to create an infrastructure for exchanging BTC and US dollars. Currently, El Salvador uses both Bitcoin and US dollars as legal tender.