Another great example is ​Coinstar​ making Bitcoin more accessible to the public by testing Bitcoin ATM functionality on their coins-to-cash kiosks located at grocery stores. As of now, the only Coinstar kiosks that allow customers to purchase Bitcoin are inside certain stores in California, Washington and Texas. Coinstar also stated that they will expand the Bitcoin ATM integration into more of their kiosks, depending on how well they perform at the current locations.

Cryptocurrency Industry

The cryptocurrency industry has been growing at a rapid pace despite the 2018 bear market in cryptocurrency prices. Companies are continuing to develop new technology and setting a foundation for cryptocurrency to thrive in the future. More and more local businesses and online websites continue to adopt Bitcoin as a method of payment.

Companies that are dedicated to the crypto space are continuing to grow as well. Coinbase is projected to report around $1.3 billion in revenue for 2018, compared to $923 million in revenue for 2017 which saw a bullish market cycle in Bitcoin’s price.

The number of Bitcoin ATMs worldwide has grown to over 4,262 ATMs compared to only 2,200 ATMs around the same time last year, according to data gathered from Coin ATM Radar, a website that aggregates Bitcoin ATM locations by manufacturer, making it easier to search for a Bitcoin ATM near your location. That represents a 91%+ growth rate year-over-year for the number of Bitcoin ATM locations added during the 2018 Bitcoin bear market. ​

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Confirmed Transactions Per Day

The number of daily confirmed Bitcoin transactions

Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry overall have made more progress in 2018 than many years prior, although many investors argue that 2018 was a bad year for Bitcoin because of the decline in price. However, Bitcoin was originally designed to be used as a payment network and a global currency. Bitcoin is doing better than ever as a payment network with around two million seamless transactions taking place every week, and that number is gradually increasing, according to data provided by ​Blockchain.com​.

Those statistics are expected to grow continuously as new users join the Bitcoin network and as more businesses begin accepting Bitcoin payments. In addition, new companies are frequently entering the industry and developing technology for the space in efforts to make Bitcoin more useful and accessible to the public. Bitcoin appears to have a bright future ahead with ongoing progressive developments within the industry and a growing user base in all parts of the world.