Cryptocurrency ATM company Bitcoin Depot has reached an $885 million deal with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) – GSR II Meteora Acquisition – that will see the company go public, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Key takeaways:
- Founded in 2016, Bitcoin Depot is an Atlanta-based business that operates more than 7,700 digital currency ATMs spread across the United States and Canada.
- The SPAC agreement comes at a time of great volatility in the crypto sector, with most digital assets trading 70% or more down from their last November price peaks.
- According to Coin ATM Radar, a company tracking cryptocurrency ATM locations across the globe, there are more than 38,700 automatic crypto tellers spread out across the globe. The vast majority of crypto ATMs – over 35,000 – are located in North America.
- The number of crypto ATMs exploded in the past two years – Coin ATM Radar data shows an increase from about 6,300 in 2020 to 38,750 in 2022.
- Contrary to conventional ATMs, cryptocurrency tellers allow users to deposit cash to receive a corresponding amount of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other supported digital currencies in exchange for a processing fee.