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Australia is the fastest-growing market for cryptocurrency ATMs, with their numbers increasing 16-fold in the past two years.

The country is now home to 1,200 crypto ATMs, up from just 73 two years ago, catapulting Australia as the third-largest market globally, behind the U.S. and Canada.

Users can exchange digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ether, and Dogecoin for cash at cryptocurrency ATMs. These ATMs facilitate simple access to transactions, such as buying and selling, with over 38,000 machines worldwide (35,000 in the U.S. and 3,000 in China).

However, the unprecedented surge has sparked heated debates, with advocates arguing that the machines were the repository of greater financial inclusion, and critics saying they create risks of money laundering and fraud, reported Crypto News.

According to Angela Ang of TRM Labs, Australian authorities have identified crypto ATMs as a money laundering risk. The global cash-to-crypto industry has processed at least $160 million in illicit transactions since 2019, while Australia saw around $223 million in illegal digital asset activity from 2022 to 2023, per Chainalysis Inc, reported News.co.au.

Financial institutions such as Commonwealth Bank, NAB, ANZ and Westpac have implemented safeguards to limit the amount of cryptocurrency that can be traded.

"Interest in cryptocurrencies has been increasing and we're seeing a growing number of customers losing funds to cryptocurrency scams," Commonwealth Bank announced in June 2023. "In other types of investment scams, customers think they are investing in particular investment categories other than crypto, however the scammer arranges for the funds to be paid to a cryptocurrency exchange instead."