Recently, shares of Bitcoin Depot, a Crypto ATM operator, rose 12% during its stock market debut.
At the end of the day on Monday, BTM shares closed at $3.61, showing an increase of nearly 12% over GSRM’s closing price on Friday.
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Summary
Bitcoin Depot, the first crypto ATM operator listed on the US stock market
As anticipated, Bitcoin Depot, the world’s largest crypto-ATM operator, surged nearly 12% in its Nasdaq debut Monday after completing a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) GSR II Meteora (GSRM) valued at $885 million in August.
Bitcoin Depot is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and its shares, marked “BTM,” are the first by a crypto-ATM operator to be listed on a major US stock market.
The trading day was marked by intense stock movements. Before the market opened, the share price had risen as high as $6.60 in the pre-market, only to return to $3.39, registering a 5% increase from Friday’s level.
At the end of the day, BTM shares closed at $3.61, showing an increase of nearly 12% over GSRM’s closing price on Friday.
As a reminder, crypto-ATMs allow users to purchase cryptocurrencies using cash or debit cards, directly linking tokens to a specific wallet without having to go through a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
However, it is important to note that these ATMs have also been used by scam artists, who offer goods for sale on sites such as eBay or Craigslist and instruct buyers to make payment by depositing cash into a crypto-ATM.
Bitcoin Depot and the consolidation strategy
According to Coin ATM Radar data, Bitcoin Depot operates more than 6,000 crypto-ATMs, representing about 20% of all ATMs in the United States and a global share of 17.6%.
Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz stressed that the crypto-ATM market is still “highly fragmented.” Therefore, the company is now focusing its efforts on the industry consolidation strategy, as told to CoinDesk:
“There are a few dozen operators with over 100 bitcoin ATMs in the US alone, and there hasn’t been much M&A activity in this space compared to other parts of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Rolling up this highly fragmented market is a really exciting opportunity for us.”
Finally, it is worth mentioning that in the past two years, Bitcoin Depot has installed crypto-ATMs in more than 2,000 Circle K convenience stores. Now, the company plans to pursue similar installation agreements with other “household name retailers” and some smaller regional chains, as confirmed by Mintz.
ATM and QR scams: what are they and how do they work?
This is not the first time the FBI has reported an increase in fraud cases involving cryptocurrency automated teller machines (ATMs) and QR codes to facilitate payments.
In fact, according to the agency, fraudsters are trying to steer victims toward using physical crypto-ATMs and QR codes to complete payment transactions.
Specifically, in these cases, the scammers are asking victims to make payments and then directing them to withdraw money from their financial accounts, such as investment or retirement accounts.
The FBI warns that the scammers provide a QR code associated with their cryptocurrency wallet, which the victim can use during the transaction.
Next, the scammer guides the victim to a physical crypto-ATM, where they must enter money, purchase cryptocurrency, and use the QR code provided to automatically send the funds to the recipient’s address.
Oftentimes, the scammer maintains constant online communication with the victim and provides detailed instructions until the payment is completed, warns the FBI.
