Bitcoinist caught up Landry Ntahe, founder and CEO of BCB ATM, who explains how his Bitcoin ATM startup was able to rapidly expand over the past year to take the top-spot among operators in the UK.
BCB ATM: A Success Story
Less than a year ago, Bitcoinist interviewed BCB ATM, a Bitcoin ATM startup based out of the UK. At the time, this fledgling company had ambitions to rapidly expand as it quickly took the the number two spot among cryptocurrency ATM operators in their home country, having seven machines across the UK.
The strategy worked. In just eleven months, BCB ATM experienced “an overall increase of 528.07%” in revenue, Landry Ntahe, head of operations at BCB ATM, tells Bitcoinist.
What’s more, the company now holds the top-spot among Bitcoin vending machine operators in the UK as its market share jumped from 16 to 28 percent, with 32 out of 113 machines now belonging to BCB ATM in the country.
“We had around 7 machines. Now we have 32,” says Ntahe. “And we plan to put out at least 5 to 10 new machines every month.”
The rate of growth has been unprecedented. When BCB ATM first launched, it only installed three machines from October 2015 to October 2016.
Then things really picked up in 2017 when their number of Bitcoin ATMs soared to 32. Overall, the company has averaged more than one installation per month since the BCB ATM first launched and now offers both one-way and two-way machines for buying and selling cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin Price is King
Admittedly, a large part of BCB ATM’s success correlates to the meteoric rise in Bitcoin price, particularly towards the end of of last year when demand for buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies skyrocketed.
“We saw an increase of 100.92% in revenue from August to December,” Ntahe notes.
Then in Q1 2018, the red-hot cryptocurrency market experienced a massive correction. This too had a negative impact on the company as revenue contracted 56.82% between January and February 2018.
However, the downturn affected virtually every other cryptocurrency company across-the-board with ICO-focused companies and crypto hedge funds experiencing the brunt of the bear market.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin vending machines have continued to spring up unabated across the globe. Back in February 2017, Bitcoinist reported on a major milestone for the industry as the total number of machines worldwide crossed 1,000 for the first time.
Today, the number of Bitcoin vending machines stands at 2,655, according to statistics from CoinATMradar.
Ntahe explains:
We are not discouraged by the price fluctuation. We are confident in the crypto community and seen it grow stronger in the downturn. Moreover, the increasing interest in Bitcoin has introduced former skeptics to the space.
With BCB ATM remaining unfazed, it plans to continue expanding beyond the UK, as they’re currently talent-searching for a international business manager to help achieve this goal.
“I think the market will bounce back in the summer,” he adds.
Have you used a BCB ATM machine to buy or sell bitcoin? Share your experience below!
Images courtesy of leicestermercury.co.uk, Shutterstock, BCB ATM