There are now more than 8,000 Bitcoin ATMs around the world, according to monitoring organisation CoinATMRadar.

Out of the 8,208 ATMs, North America is the leading region in the number of crypto ATMs, with an 83.1% market share as of June. The majority of that number or 5,931 ATMs are operating in the United States. Canada follows with 731 crypto ATMs, or a 9.1% share.

Europe ranked as the second-leading region globally with 1,147 of Bitcoin ATMs, a 14.2% share in the total number. The Coin ATM Radar data revealed that the United Kingdom, Austria, and Switzerland represent the leading European countries, with 250, 149, and 77 ATMs, respectively. Far behind the leading regions, Asia ranked third with 123 ATMs and 1.5% market share.

As the number of Bitcoin ATMS, or BATMs, increase, so does the regulatory interest – which should be expected and welcomed.

According to Ciphertrace CTO John Jeffries, crypto-cash machines will attract “greater…regulatory focus” in a bid to rein-in alleged cross-border illicit financial transfers.

Jeffries urged “the need for more uniform regulatory enforcement and compliance” as governments start to crack down on crypto-infused automated teller machines.

“Germany, Spain and the United States and Canada are all cracking down on Bitcoin ATMs, both for tax and AML purposes,” reports Bitcoin.com. 

“The crypto teller machines allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrency. They can also work in remittances, allowing transactions between two fiat currencies, underpinned by Bitcoin.”

Francis Pouliot of Bitcoin Foundation Canada and local crypto exchange BullBitcoin has also tweeted that the new legislation will “predominantly affect those firms that swap crypto for cash, citing Bitcoin ATM operators as the most heavily impacted.” 

Bitcoin ATM operators are now “required to report all transactions worth $10,000 CAD or more,” says a Coin Telegraph report.