Bitcoin Payments

Bitcoin ecosystem makes a U-turn recovery in global ATM installations

Halfway through 2022, the BTC ATM installation numbers dropped 89.75% by May, followed by a swift recovery in June.

Bitcoin (BTC) ATM installations have marked a new comeback as June 2022 saw the reversal of the five-month-long downward trajectory for the first time this year. 

The global ATM installations worldwide fell consistently throughout the year, with May reporting the lowest number of 205 ATM installations. However, June saw the installation of over 882 ATMs in just the first ten days.

Chart showing the net change of cryptocurrency machines number installed and removed monthly. Source: Coin ATM Radar

As evidenced by the above graph, May 2022’s drop reached a range that was last seen three years ago in 2019. Over the last two years, in 2020 and 2021, Bitcoin ATM installations grew consistently owing to friendlier regulatory landscapes amid a rewarding market when numerous cryptocurrencies attained their all-time highs momentarily.

In addition, the use of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador contributed to the spike in crypto ATM installations in the last year. China imposing a blanket on crypto trading and mining, too, contributed to the temporary slowdown in the global ATM installation numbers. Surprisingly, despite the regulatory hurdles, China came out as the 2nd top Bitcoin mining hub despite the crypto ban.

Crypto ATM installations peaked in 2021, with December witnessing 1971 ATMs installed in a month. However, up until June 2022, the numbers dropped 89.75% by May, which was followed by a swift recovery in the following month.

According to Coin ATM Radar’s gauge scale, which is based on the data collected over the last two months, nearly 23 crypto ATMs are being installed per day on an average globally.

A chart showing the speed of crypto machines installed over time. Source: Coin ATM Radar

Data also confirms that there are currently 38,000 operational ATMs installed around the world at the time of writing. Crypto ATMs serve a crucial purpose for the Bitcoin and crypto economy, allowing users and investors to exchange their fiat currencies against Bitcoin and vice versa. 

Out of the lot, the United States represents 87.9% of the total crypto ATM network, i.e., 33,403 ATMs. Prominent manufacturers that lead this space in terms of market share are Genesis Coin (40.9%), General Bytes (21.6%), BitAccess (16.1%), Coinsource (5.4%) and Bitstop (4.8%).

While ATM transactions do not contribute to the overall liquidity of the Bitcoin network, it helps investors procure crypto assets against fiat currencies. As a result, having local crypto ATMs drive the adoption of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream.

Along similar lines, El Salvador, after accepting Bitcoin as legal tender, witnessed a spike in tourism. According to reports, El Salvador’s tourism has grown by 30% since the Bitcoin Law was implemented.

Related: Falling Bitcoin price doesn’t affect El Salvador: ‘Now it’s time to buy more,’ reveals Deputy Dania Gonzalez

In a recent discussion with Cointelegraph, Dania Gonzalez, Deputy of the Republic of El Salvador, recently revealed the country’s plan to buy more Bitcoin amid falling prices:

“What Nayib Bukele did was buy Bitcoins and make a profit at a certain strategic moment.”

Gonzalez also indicated that El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s strategy has already proven to be successful in terms of socioeconomic impact by citing two ventures — a veterinary hospital and a public school — that were made possible thanks to calculated BTC investments.

Jack Dorsey is building ‘Web5’ powered by Bitcoin

Block Inc. is looking to bypass Web3 entirely and focus on a new Bitcoin-centric model for identity management.

Block subsidiary TBD has announced plans to build a new decentralized web centered around Bitcoin (BTC), underscoring founder Jack Dorsey’s belief that the largest blockchain network will play a major role in the internet’s evolution. 

The new project, called “Web5,” represents the latest Bitcoin-centric endeavor to be pursued by Dorsey since stepping down as CEO of Twitter in November 2021.

Whereas Web3 incorporates blockchain technology and tokenization to decentralize the internet, Web5 is being envisioned as an identity-based system that only utilizes one blockchain: Bitcoin. Twitter user Namcios broke down the concept of Web5 in a series of tweets that described several software components working together to enhance the user’s experience and enable decentralized identity management.

Block has a lofty vision of “evolving the Web” by prioritizing identity management. Source: Block

According to Namcios, Web5 utilizes ION, which they describe as an “open, public and permissionless DID network that runs atop the Bitcoin blockchain.”

The Web3 Foundation describes DIDs as decentralized identifiers that enable “verifiable, decentralized digital identity.”

Web5 is essentially a decentralized web platform, or DWP, that allows developers to create decentralized web apps via DIDs and decentralized nodes, according to TBD’s prototype documents. Web5 will also have a monetary network centered around BTC, which mirrors Dorsey’s belief that the digital asset will one day become the internet’s native currency.

Related: Jack Dorsey’s Block hits $1.3B in Q1 profits, $43M in BTC trading revenue

Dorsey’s motivation for pursuing a new web development model may stem from his belief that Web3 will never achieve true decentralization. The Block CEO has publicly criticized Web3 and the venture capital community that supports its development. In December 2021, Dorsey tweeted that individuals don’t own Web3 — VCs and their limited partners do. “It will never escape their incentives,” he said. “It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label.”


Bitcoin Lightning Network capacity charges through 4,000 BTC

The layer-2 technology built on Bitcoin now has 4,000 Bitcoin or $120 million locked up allowing for near-instant payments around the world.

There’s cause for celebration from the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The Lightning Network hit the 4,000 Bitcoin (BTC) public capacity milestone, meaning $120 million in value is ready for peer-to-peer payments.

The Lightning Network first broke the 1,000 BTC barrier in August 2020 and the 2,000 BTC barrier in July 2021. The capacity has doubled in the space of 18 months.

Lightning Network capacity growth since January 2022. Source: Glassnode.

CoinCorner CEO Daniel Scott told Cointelegraph that “we had slow and steady growth with Lightning capacity to begin, but since Jan[uary] 2021, the uptick has been strong.”

Danny Brewster, CEO of United Kingdom-based Bitcoin exchange Fast Bitcoins told Cointelegraph that Lightning Network capacity “likely passed 4K a long time ago with private channel metrics not being publicly available.”

“With that being said, the constant growth has been a great start for the Lightning Network and I foresee it continuing into the future, as long as all stakeholders, from developers to entrepreneurs building businesses continue to push forward.”

A layer-2 payment protocol built on Bitcoin’s base layer, the Lightning Network allows for near-instant transaction finality. In the following video, Paco de la India — a Bitcoin-powered world traveler — buys a pair of shorts from Mozambique-based Bitcoiner Jorge, using the Lightning Network:

Lead on-chain analyst for Glassnode, James Check, told Cointelegraph, “The expansion of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network appears to be transitioning out of the “reckless” phase, and into proper experimentation by early adopters.”

Related: The Lightning Network Lunch: A Bitcoin contactless payment story

“As wallet designs and user experience improve, more kinks can be worked out, and the network will mature. The persistent growth of public Lightning capacity and channel count is a reflection of this vote of growing confidence and growing utilization,” he said.

Scott agreed, sharing that the positive trend is likely to continue “as more companies adopt Lightning and we see more use cases come to fruition.”

“The influence of El Salvador adopting Bitcoin seems to have been an inflection point for Lightning, giving it confidence and proving a real-world use case.”

According to data from 1ML, the average and median transaction cost for sending Satoshis (the smallest denomination of a Bitcoin) over the Lightning is well under $0.01, proving it packs a punch as payment technology. 

Brewster concludes, it’s an “awesome start but a long way to go. It really is still early!”

Taco tokens: Chipotle adds crypto payments via Flexa

Nearly 3,000 Chipotle restaurants across the U.S. will accept 98 cryptocurrencies as the Mexican-style fast-food chain partners with Flexa to support crypto payments.

The popular Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle is now accepting cryptocurrency payments through digital payment provider Flexa at all of its over 2,950 United States-based restaurants.

Flexa announced the partnership on Wednesday which will see Chipotle accept all the 98 cryptocurrencies Flexa currently supports including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and seven U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC). Chipotle’s website does not contain any information on the announcement, however.

The fast-food giant is the latest Flexa partner joining other large businesses such as cinema operator Regal Theaters and Bancoagrícola, El Salvador’s largest financial institution, where Flexa enables both retail and merchant Bitcoin transactions for the bank’s customers.

Chipotle has briefly experimented with cryptocurrencies in the past. In April 2021 to celebrate National Burrito Day, it gave away $100,000 worth of Bitcoin along with free burritos and claimed it was the first U.S. restaurant brand to offer a crypto giveaway.

For the so-called “chiptocurrency” giveaway, Chipotle partnered with former Ripple chief technology officer Stefan Thomas, creating a game where players guessed a code possibly winning either a burrito or up to $25,000 worth of Bitcoin.

The game parodied Thomas’ experience of losing over 7,000 BTC due to forgetting the password for his crypto wallet which today would be worth over $208 million.

Other fast food names have explored or signaled interest in crypto and metaverse applications for their brands. Burger King partnered with trading platform Robinhood in Nov 2021 and gave away free Dogecoin (DOGE) BTC and ETH with meal purchases.

Related: How can the Metaverse help the food industry?

McDonald’s, known for poking fun at Crypto Twitter, filed multiple trademark applications in February including plans for “a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods” in the Metaverse and “operating a virtual restaurant featuring home delivery.”

With crypto adoption in the U.S. remaining high despite market turbulence, merchants have expressed a desire to implement payment solutions to capture the growing interest.

A Crypto.com global survey of merchants released in February showed only 4% were already accepting cryptocurrency payments, but nearly 60% of merchants responded with interest in accepting crypto payments within the next year.

Although enthusiasm from merchants overall was high, only around 25% of the hospitality industry respondents were keen on crypto payment adoption.