After four long years, crypto ATMs will be relaunched in Japan soon.
On 2 August 2022, local crypto exchange firm Gaia Co. Ltd. has announced that it will soon roll out the ATMs—locally known as BTMs—in the country. Initially, the BTMs will be installed in Tokyo and Osaka, but Gaia plans to expand the network to other cities over the next 12 months by setting up 50 BTMs. If everything goes according to plan, the company aims to then up that number to 130 in the next three years.
As per the plan, BTMs will support the withdrawal of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC). Users will be able to withdraw a maximum of $747 per transaction, and there will be a daily withdrawal cap of $2,243. The withdrawal caps are part of anti-money laundering compliance measures.
To withdraw funds from BTMs, users need to obtain a special card from the company. Once this is done, users can send eligible crypto assets to the BTM via phone and then withdraw the amount in Yen.
Japan is one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world, and Bitcoin ATM made its debut in the country as early as 2014. However, due to unfavorable market conditions and leading crypto exchange in the country being hacked, user interest in crypto ATMs dwindled and they were eventually shut down as a result.
This is the first time any local crypto exchange has shown interest in launching BTMs in Japan.
