Bitcoin ATM operators like Bitcoin Depot claim their machines serve the unbanked. The machines charge up to 20% fees and cluster in low-income neighborhoods. That's not financial inclusion.

Who Actually Uses Them

Most Bitcoin ATM activity ties to money laundering and scams, not banking access. In Kansas City, the machines concentrate in low-income neighborhoods. In San Francisco, the same pattern: the Mission District, the Tenderloin, and other neighborhoods with vulnerable residents.

The placement tells you the business model. You don't put a 20%-fee machine in a wealthy neighborhood.

The Scam Pipeline

Scammers direct victims — often seniors — to deposit cash into Bitcoin ATMs. The FTC reports fraud losses at Bitcoin ATMs have skyrocketed.

I see these machines in convenience stores across San Francisco. Every one of them is a trap waiting for the next elderly person to get a fake call from "the IRS."