Coolangatta in Australia now has its first Bitcoin (BTC) ATM, with built-in Lightning network capabilities. The ATM has been set up at The Strand shopping center in Coolangatta. A Lightning Bitcoin ATM is expected to save significant time due to its layer-2 capabilities.
The Bitcoin Lightning ATM would also allow the purchase of small amounts of BTC, often in Satoshi (sats), the smallest unit of BTC. One satoshi is equal to 0.00000001 BTC.
Crypto ATMs settle transactions on the blockchain. However, this has its own limitations. For instance, when miner fees on the Bitcoin network sharply rose between 2017 and 2018, operators had to adjust for batching transactions.
Even though a user may buy Bitcoins via an ATM, it is not instantly sent to them. The operator has systems to wait for other ATM network users to use the machines. After that, the transactions are aggregated and sent out in one bulk. A Lightning network might significantly help with that particule issue.
Australia dethrones El Salvador in the number of Bitcoin ATMs
El Salvador, the first nation to adopt Bitcoin, has dropped another position in the overall number of crypto ATM installations. In 2023, Australia replaced El Salvador to take the 4th position in the highest number of ATMs. Australia currently has 219 ATMs.
President Nayib Bukele decided to install more than 200 cryptocurrency ATMs across El Salvador as part of the country’s effort to make Bitcoin a legal tender. In September 2021, this move elevated El Salvador to the third-largest crypto ATM hub, behind the US and Canada. However, Australia and Spain passed the Central American nation in ATM density.
99 crypto ATMs were installed in Australia during the last three months of 2022. Australia had 219 operational crypto ATMs as of January 1, 2023, outnumbering El Salvador by 7 ATMs.
At press time, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $16,728.87, up by 0.1% in the last 24 hours.