Germany recognizes Bitcoin as a legal financial instrument German financial watchdog provides clarity on the legal status of cryptocurrencies. By Liam Frost 2 min read Mar 3, 2020
* Germany has provided legal clarity on the status of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
* It has published five characteristics of a cryptocurrencies.
* Cryptocurrencies are not to be confused with electronic money.
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) of Germany has officially defined cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, providing further regulatory clarity. This makes it easier for those spending cryptocurrencies and will give some relief to businesses built around them.
According to the translation of BaFin’s press release published on March 2, cryptocurrencies are now classified as the “digital representations of value” that have the following characteristics:
*Not issued or guaranteed by any central bank or public body; *Don’t have the legal status of currency or money; *Can be used by individuals or legal entities as a means of exchange or payment; *Serve investment purposes; *Can be transmitted, stored and traded electronically.
The document also notes that cryptocurrencies are not to be confused with various types of “electronic money” which have other sections of the law dedicated to them.
The new classification was based on definitions written by other regulators worldwide, such as the Financial Action Task Force. BaFin also clarified that prior to this, cryptocurrencies did not fall into any of the generally recognized pre-existing categories in Germany...
The number of Bitcoin ATMs in the US rose 177% over the past year Worldwide, close to 10,000 new Bitcoin ATMs have been installed since March 1, 2020. MARIE HUILLET 4 HOURS AGO
Since March 1, 2020, the number of new Bitcoin ATMs installed worldwide is nearing 10,000. According to the latest data from Coin ATM Radar, the current number of machines stands at 16,835, a strong 57.5% increase, or 9,683 new machines, as compared with 7,152 last year.
Back in Nov. 2020, Cointelegraph had reported a striking year-on-year increase of 80%. As previously, the vast majority of machines continue to be located in the United States, where 81% (13,699 out of 16,835 machines globally) are installed.
Within the U.S., growth has been unparalleled, rising by 177% since March 1, 2020, or from 4,945 machines to 13,699 as of March 10, 2021. Canada, the country with the next-highest number of Bitcoin ATMs, clocks in at just 1,268, accounting for roughly 7.5% of machines worldwide.
Two of the top countries tracked by Coin ATM Radar, Austria and the United Kingdom, have seen a somewhat jagged trend in terms of Bitcoin ATM installations over the past couple of years: in the former, the number of machines peaked in May 2019, at 266, and has since fallen to 153 as of this week — a decrease of 42.5%.
In the U.K., the decline has been less stark, with a high point of 283 in Feb. 2020 as compared with 199 in the latest figures: just under a 30% decrease. Figures for Europe as a whole show a more or less steady, but modest, increase from a total of 1,233 machines back in March 2020 to 1,273 as of now.
Coin ATM Radar's ticker tracking crypto ATM installation speed indicated that 34.6 new ATMs are being installed each day. A vast majority of these machines remain buy-only, at 77.6%, with 22.4% offering support for both buy and sell operations.
While the U.S., Canada and Europe account for the lion's share of all crypto ATMs worldwide, Hong Kong (85 machines), the Russian Federation (53) and Colombia (46) stand out as the countries with the highest number of ATM locations beyond the North American and European contexts.
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