Crypto ATMs have been popping up around Cincinnati; here’s why

In the past year, the number of crypto ATMs in Cincinnati gas stations, convenience stores, and grocery stores has more than doubled.

Mirroring the growing demand for cryptocurrency access, as of June 24, there are 113 ATMs allowing users to access their digital wallets in Greater Cincinnati.

Bitcoin Automated Teller Machines resemble traditional ATMs and allow users to access their digital Bitcoin wallet and use cash or their debit card to buy Bitcoin on site. While some ATMs also allow users to sell Bitcoin back for cash, the machines are mostly used as a point of access for investing in cryptocurrency.

“You're going to see these ATMs on practically every street corner and every convenience store just like you would with normal ATMs,” said Ben Weiss, CEO of Coin Flip, a fast-growing crypto ATM operating company.

Coin Flip, which was founded by Weiss and Daniel Polotsky in 2015, was named as Chicago’s fastest-growing company by Crain’s Fast 50 2021 with a five-year growth of 1,715,092%. The company has more than 200 employees, adding 170 in just the past year.

“Before we could barely even explain to stores what a Bitcoin ATM was,” Weiss said. “Now, we have thousands of stores calling us, wanting to get a Bitcoin ATM.”

Coin Flip began with 10 ATMs based in Chicago but has grown to more than 2,000 ATMs nationwide. When the company began expanding outside of Illinois, Ohio was among the first states targeted for more ATM locations.

“The Midwest is our best-performing region, so Ohio has been a natural fit,” Weiss said. “And it's not just Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus — it's all the medium-sized towns in between, too. The demand is just as strong as everywhere else.”

As of June 24, Ohio has 679 crypto ATM and teller locations, more than double the 260 locations the state had around the same time a year prior, according to Coin ATM Radar.

Bitcoin Depot, a competing crypto ATM operator, has also experienced exponential growth in the past few years. The company has more than doubled its ATM presence in the past year, starting at 3,000 and expecting to reach more than 6,000 ATMs by the end of the year. There are 100 Bitcoin Depot-hosted ATMs in Ohio, with 8 located in Cincinnati.

“Bitcoin had a stellar year in 2020, and although it has taken a dip since then, there are projections that it will continue to grow,” Bitcoin Depot strategic marketing manager Cassandra Gulia said. “In this last year, a lot of people have been looking away from banking and the stock market and towards cryptocurrencies as a means diversifying their portfolio.”

Both Weiss and Gulia said the physical and familiar ATM experience, along with the presence of customer support that Coin Flip and Bitcoin Depot offer, makes cryptocurrency investment more accessible and less intimidating to the average person.

“People really like that convenient physical component, especially if you want to just throw some extra change into the machine,” Weiss said. Weiss also noted the physical presence of crypto ATMs indicates to the public how much cryptocurrency investment has grown in ways that online exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini can not.

“Our average transaction size is about $600, so it’s fractions of Bitcoin that are being bought pretty much every time,” Gulia said.

While acknowledging cryptocurrency’s integration into the mainstream, Weiss said he doesn’t believe Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is going to replace the U.S. dollar.

“Credit cards work fine for $3 Starbucks's coffees or daily purchases, it is not a replacement for credit cards and cash in that sense,” Weiss said.

Beyond their surging ATM presence, the impact of cryptocurrency and blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, is becoming more apparent across Cincinnati: