Bitcoin (BTC-USD) ATMs will be on Wall Street soon. Well, not quite; rather, Bitcoin ATM stocks will be on Wall Street soon. A bear market isn’t enough to keep crypto companies from coming public. The first crypto ATM provider, Bitcoin Depot, will be trading on the Nasdaq very soon, as part of a merger deal.
Crypto ATMs are huge in the U.S., regardless of the state of the market or regulations. These machines are made to help anybody who so wishes to buy cryptocurrency, regardless of their technical expertise. Users can buy Bitcoin at these machines without needing to set up an exchange account or a wallet, making them the easiest method of investing.
And as crypto companies hone in on the still largely untapped potential of the American market, crypto ATMs are cropping up all over the place. Since 2020, the number of crypto ATMs in the U.S. has increased from 4,200 to over 34,000. With just under 39,000 of these machines in the entire world, the U.S. possesses almost 90% of the global supply.
For the crypto faithful, these machines are just another step along the end goal of making cryptocurrency the world of truly democratized finance. They don’t require bank accounts, meaning anybody and everybody can use one. And as Bitcoin use cases become more tangible and practical for everyday life, that can come in handy to the most underserved communities financially. However, they’ve also become a pain for regulators, who complain that they serve criminal interests and present headaches for law enforcement.
Regardless of these arguments, the financial world sees them as a cash cow. Indeed, by 2026, experts expect the value of this sector to rise by a whopping $2.67 billion. Most of this growth is also expected to occur within North America.
Bitcoin Depot Listing on Nasdaq Through SPAC Deal
With this much wealth expected to come into the space, investors will want to put their money on a leader. Bitcoin Depot, with over 7,000 ATMs spread across the U.S. and Canada, is one of these leaders. And soon, stock traders will have a chance to get some exposure to the company through its deal with a special purpose acquisitions company (SPAC).
GSR II Meteora (NASDAQ:GSRM) is announcing its intention to bring Bitcoin Depot public through a SPAC merger today. The companies agreed to the terms of the merger, valued at $885 million. This deal will bring Bitcoin Depot to the Nasdaq Exchange under the name Bitcoin Depot Inc. The stock will trade under the ticker “BTM.” On top of this $885 million injection into Bitcoin Depot, the company will have access to GSR’s $320 million in funds it can use to grow its operations. The deal will close in the first quarter of 2023 if all goes according to schedule.
Of course, the companies do have to do some reckoning with the state of the crypto market. As Forbes points out, this month is the first month since late 2015 in which there were more crypto ATMs taken down than there were installed. And, this year has seen the slowest period of growth for ATMs since 2017. But, Bitcoin Depot assures that it’s not feeling the macroeconomic conditions of the crypto market so harshly. In fact, CEO Brandon Mintz says the company is thriving. “We’re actually doing fantastic right now regardless of the market,” he says.
GSRM stock is not moving notably on the news, though trade volume is rising dramatically. Over 338,000 shares are swapping hands this trading session, far greater than the average of 50,000.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
