Crypto ATMs To Make a Comeback in Japan After Several Years

After a break of four years, crypto ATMs, often known as BTMs in the industry, have reemerged in Japan. On Tuesday, the regional cryptocurrency exchange Gaia Co. Ltd. made the announcement that it will soon offer BTMs that support Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC).

Although the first automated teller machines (ATMs) for Bitcoin were installed in Tokyo in early 2014, the city has not had any ATMs for other digital assets running since the crypto winter of 2018. Coincheck, a domestic cryptocurrency exchange, was hacked, resulting in a loss of $530 million. This hacked exchange crippled the local economy and reduced interest in crypto ATMs.

The first batch of BTMs will be installed at various sites around Tokyo and Osaka; however, the business has announced ambitions to deploy a total of fifty BTMs across the country over the next twelve months. Within the next three years, the company’s goal is to grow the number of BTMs that are operational at installed sites to 130.

Users of BTM will have the ability to withdraw up to $747 or 100,000 yen in a single transaction, with a daily maximum withdrawal limit of $2,243 or 300,000 yen. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance procedures include a limit on the amount of cash that may be withdrawn.

It was reported on Wednesday by a local media site called Mainichi Shimbun that the action by Gaia would be the first time a locally registered cryptocurrency firm has placed cryptocurrency ATMs in Japan.

Users are required to register with the firm in order to get a unique card that serves as their access pass to the BTM in order to make a withdrawal. After approval has been given, customers will be able to deposit cryptocurrency assets to BTM through their smartphones and subsequently withdraw the same amount of cash in yen.

According to Shimbun, BTM will contribute to the acceleration of the present domestic withdrawal procedure, which currently takes several days to complete and involves the transfer of cash from an exchange to a local bank account.

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