Cryptocurrency prices have shown high volatility, but this has had little or no impact on some major players in the industry, including Bitcoin Depot, a Bitcoin ATM operator. As the largest ATM operator in the United States, Bitcoin Depot reported in its 10-K annual report on April 15 that historically, there has been no correlation between its revenues and Bitcoin prices.
Notable Statements from Bitcoin Depot
Despite fluctuating Bitcoin prices, the company’s revenues in 2023 were $698 million and $647 million in 2022, showing no link to Bitcoin prices. The company noted that while Bitcoin’s price increased by 155% in 2023, Bitcoin Depot’s annual revenue growth was only 6%.
According to the ATM operator, the lack of correlation between Bitcoin Depot’s revenues and Bitcoin prices is partly due to the nature of the services provided. Bitcoin Depot stated the following:
“According to our own user surveys, the majority of our users utilize our products and services for non-speculative purposes including money transfers, international remittances, and online purchases.”
The filing indicated that Bitcoin Depot strives to minimize exposure to Bitcoin price volatility by maintaining a relatively low balance of Bitcoin at any given time:
“Our typical practice is to purchase Bitcoin through liquidity providers like Cumberland DRW or Abra, refreshing our Bitcoin only by purchasing from leading Bitcoin liquidity providers, and we do not engage in any Bitcoin mining ourselves.”
Bitcoin ATM Industry
Bitcoin Depot highlighted two main components of the working capital required for its operations: Bitcoin in hot wallets to fulfill user orders and cash accumulated at Bitcoin ATM kiosks. As of December 31, 2023, the cash at BTM kiosks constituted about 21% of Bitcoin Depot’s average monthly revenue.
Founded in 2016, Bitcoin Depot operates a large network of Bitcoin ATM machines worldwide. Known as BTMs, these Bitcoin ATMs allow users to deposit and withdraw money using cash or a bank card. According to CoinATMRadar, as of April 2024, Bitcoin Depot operates over 7,000 BTMs worldwide, making it the largest crypto ATM operator globally. Its biggest competitors, CoinFlip and BitStop, operate 4,800 and 2,500 machines, respectively.
As previously mentioned, the global adoption of Bitcoin ATMs saw a decline for the first time in terms of the number of machines installed in 2023. According to Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz, the ATM industry is likely to see a significant recovery following the expected Bitcoin halving event this week.
