bitcoin atm in india? is it possible..when?

[IIrik11]

dudes, i just saw a shorts video on youtube & we need machines like this in india in every city across multiple malls like asap  

here's the shorts im talking about: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9uMOFgjOGVA

this is the most easiest way of buying bitcoin that i can think of.. no cex, no p2p, no kyc,, just simply deposit cash & get bitcoin

btw, does any has any information on this,, why aren't there bitcoins atms in india,, does the law prohibits it??

[Bitcoin Smith]

btw, does any has any information on this,, why aren't there bitcoins atms in india,, does the law prohibits it??

In the past RBI had restriction so Unocoin shut their ATM they operated in Bangalore, and I don't think we have any ATM that is legal to operate in India because buying and selling crypto must be registered with FIU so that should be the requirement even if it's just ATM and if we have to register with FIU then we lose all the positive of bitcoin ATM so it's simply doesn't make sense to have one and I guess that's why we don't have any.

But, I found this: There are 421 Crypto ATMs in India as of August, 2025.

[libert19]

...But, I found this: There are 421 Crypto ATMs in India as of August, 2025.

This doesn't look right, few sites that are mentioned as sample data doesn't look legit, also they look more like a money exchange services, not crypto atms. I would not bother with these, that's for sure.

Also, the top sentence made me giggle,

There are 421 Crypto ATMs in India as of August, 2025. The highest number of Crypto ATMs of India are in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal with 40 businesses and 38 businesses, respectively. Uttar Pradesh makes up approximately 9.5% of all Crypto ATMs in the India.

Leaving metro cities, UP/WB having most crypto atms, I was like, sure bro!

[Bitcoin Smith]

^ Yes, that seems to be the website only filled with most inaccurate data.

As I explained, there is no legal bitcoin ATM in India, if we had one then it will be definitely came into our attention in one way or the other and those merchants probably guys listed themselves as traders on any website and one who compiled it read the title in a wrong way.

[henmark]

dudes, i just saw a shorts video on youtube & we need machines like this in india in every city across multiple malls like asap  

here's the shorts im talking about: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9uMOFgjOGVA

this is the most easiest way of buying bitcoin that i can think of.. no cex, no p2p, no kyc,, just simply deposit cash & get bitcoin

btw, does any has any information on this,, why aren't there bitcoins atms in india,, does the law prohibits it??

As much as I remember, there was a bitcoin ATM in India. The one I remember was set by Unocoin in Bengaluru but it was a big failure and was shut down just after a couple of months after commencing operations. That was way back in 2019-20. That time there were no rules and regulations set for bitcoins but now we do have a legal framework supporting crypto transactions but still we do not see any such ATM as of now. I'm pretty sure Bengaluru will be the first city to implement these ATM's which can be followed by Delhi, Hyderabad and few major cities. I will be watching for any such update but as of now, there's not much to discuss about.

Anyways, there's no real need of bitcoin ATM unless we want to cash out some bitcoins instantly without going through any third parties. Even that will bring it's own consequences and not to forget heavy taxes and service fees on every transaction.

Edit:
Here is the news link for more info: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/cryptocurrency/will-india-have-crypto-atms-once-again/articleshow/85563285.cms

[TheUltraElite]

As far as I remember, there were some police problems with that Unocoin ATM in Bangaluru after which it was shut down.

But as far as using crypto in India is concerned, I found out that spending on exchanges to get INR is inferior to buying gift cards from sellers like Bitrefill and buying groceries and Phonepe cards from there to pay for stuff.

I am currently spending more through GC than my bank balance for daily goods.

[ghan7300]

A legal, national network of Bitcoin ATMs will only become possible in India if there is a fundamental change in government policy—specifically, if the government decides to:

Grant Bitcoin the status of legal payment instrument (highly unlikely).

Create a specific, secure license for non-banking entities to operate cash-handling machines for VDA transactions (possible, but complex and currently not being discussed).

Until that regulatory shift occurs, the ATM is seen as an illicit cash funnel, which is why the first attempt was immediately shut down. The public dialogue in India revolves around online trading, taxation, and the Digital Rupee, completely bypassing the topic of physical crypto infrastructure.

[pawanjain]

As far as I know, I don't think we have a working bitcoin ATM operating in India. We had one few years back in Bengaluru though.
It was in a mall but it was shut down soon due to regulatory and authorization issues.
Crypto is still not accepted as a legal tender in India and that makes the chances slim for getting a bitcoin ATM operated in India.
On top of that, there are always additional charges in a bitcoin ATM and so buying/selling there is not really worth it.

[M47AK16]

As far as I know, I don't think we have a working bitcoin ATM operating in India. We had one few years back in Bengaluru though.
It was in a mall but it was shut down soon due to regulatory and authorization issues.
Crypto is still not accepted as a legal tender in India and that makes the chances slim for getting a bitcoin ATM operated in India.
On top of that, there are always additional charges in a bitcoin ATM and so buying/selling there is not really worth it.

Buying or selling might not be worth but it is still good to have an ATM for emergency withdrawals, right? Even for cash withdrawals from a credit card, there are some charges still people prefer withdrawing cash for emergencies. Also, having a bitcoin ATM will be more like an advertisement and a selling point for us. Majority of middle class people will surely go home and research about bitcoins after they see a working ATM or at least they will discuss between themselves to gain knowledge which will spread awareness.

So I think not only for transactional purpose but bitcoin ATM should exist for marketing purposes.

[pawanjain]

As far as I know, I don't think we have a working bitcoin ATM operating in India. We had one few years back in Bengaluru though.
It was in a mall but it was shut down soon due to regulatory and authorization issues.
Crypto is still not accepted as a legal tender in India and that makes the chances slim for getting a bitcoin ATM operated in India.
On top of that, there are always additional charges in a bitcoin ATM and so buying/selling there is not really worth it.

Buying or selling might not be worth but it is still good to have an ATM for emergency withdrawals, right? Even for cash withdrawals from a credit card, there are some charges still people prefer withdrawing cash for emergencies. Also, having a bitcoin ATM will be more like an advertisement and a selling point for us. Majority of middle class people will surely go home and research about bitcoins after they see a working ATM or at least they will discuss between themselves to gain knowledge which will spread awareness.

So I think not only for transactional purpose but bitcoin ATM should exist for marketing purposes.

That's an interesting point. Marketing bitcoin through crypto ATMs is a nice move albeit expensive.
Only a crypto exchange which has enough funds can do such a promotion.
Although withdrawing cash from the crypto ATM will still be expensive but at least they might get some new users this way.

[marcus222]

Yeah, looks simple, but India’s rules make it tricky. The first ATM got seized, and any cash-to-BTC machine would need KYC/AML. So no “just cash in, get BTC” anytime soon.

[Parvati_j]

As far as I know, I don't think we have a working bitcoin ATM operating in India. We had one few years back in Bengaluru though.
It was in a mall but it was shut down soon due to regulatory and authorization issues.
Crypto is still not accepted as a legal tender in India and that makes the chances slim for getting a bitcoin ATM operated in India.
On top of that, there are always additional charges in a bitcoin ATM and so buying/selling there is not really worth it.

Bitcoin ATM here in India still feels very far from happening. The main problem is the regulations, everything around crypto here is still in that not banned but not fully allowed zone, so nobody wants to risk installing an ATM and then deal with legal issues later..
And even if someone bring one again, the fees on Bitcoin ATMs are usually high everywhere, so it would not even make much sense for most people. Other ways are still cheaper and more convenient.

[Bitcoin Smith]

^ If there is one then I am sure people will be ready to buy/sell on ATM even if the prices are like 10% over or under from the market price because most of the crypto sellers are facing bank freezes which means they lose their entire bank balance and it will be a long process to unfreeze the balance and the lien amount will still be held forever. So ATM is still relevant but there is no clear regulations yet which could be the reason why we don't have any.

[M47AK16]

If there is one then I am sure people will be ready to buy/sell on ATM even if the prices are like 10% over or under from the market price because most of the crypto sellers are facing bank freezes which means they lose their entire bank balance and it will be a long process to unfreeze the balance and the lien amount will still be held forever. So ATM is still relevant but there is no clear regulations yet which could be the reason why we don't have any.

Sounds like a good business plan for me .
I would love invest building a crypto ATM where price difference can be around 10%. 10% will be too rough actually so let's go with 5%. Even in that case, I can make really good profits just by owning that ATM but will the government allow me to do so? I highly doubt that even if cryptos are legalized in India.

Also I wonder how many people will actually come and use the ATM because it will be located in a specific city and we cannot expect everyone to visit that city to make their crypto transactions.

If in case government allows this, they will still need our PAN cards to proceed with any transaction where bitcoins and cash is involved. The chances of this are highly impossible though.

[Bitcoin Smith]

~
Sounds like a good business plan for me .
I would love invest building a crypto ATM where price difference can be around 10%. 10% will be too rough actually so let's go with 5%. Even in that case, I can make really good profits just by owning that ATM but will the government allow me to do so? I highly doubt that even if cryptos are legalized in India.

Also I wonder how many people will actually come and use the ATM because it will be located in a specific city and we cannot expect everyone to visit that city to make their crypto transactions.

If in case government allows this, they will still need our PAN cards to proceed with any transaction where bitcoins and cash is involved. The chances of this are highly impossible though.

When crypto is legally allowed to trade and government consider crypto as financial transaction, then I don't think it is not allowed to do that.

But the process of getting one legally might need approval from multiple government agencies like RBI, central and state government then they need to find an exchange to partner up with for liquidity or you have to provide enough liquidity which means IT will start investigating on your total crypto value and check whether you paid all your taxes upto date so I feel the legal process is the issue here.

[TSen]

When crypto is legally allowed to trade and government consider crypto as financial transaction, then I don't think it is not allowed to do that.

But the process of getting one legally might need approval from multiple government agencies like RBI, central and state government then they need to find an exchange to partner up with for liquidity or you have to provide enough liquidity which means IT will start investigating on your total crypto value and check whether you paid all your taxes upto date so I feel the legal process is the issue here.

Sounds like the legal process is going to be too hectic so I would rather not spend my time and efforts there just to make some profits by setting a bitcoin ATM which is going to be quite expensive to be honest and it will also have recurring charges like place rent, electricity bill, guard salaries and a proper security setup. I would instead just continue investing and trading with cryptos.

I might think of maybe investing my money to build ATM in a country where cryptos are legal and already have a lot of ATM's into existence. But I would hate to divert my money offshore just because the government here is not supportive enough.

[Bitcoin Smith]

~
I might think of maybe investing my money to build ATM in a country where cryptos are legal and already have a lot of ATM's into existence. But I would hate to divert my money offshore just because the government here is not supportive enough.

Where bitcoin ATMs are quite popular the profit margin will be quite low so if the intention is to make money then I suggest doing other things within the country itself. For example you can run a fiat ATM if I am not wrong or even better you can run sending/receiving money to people and getting a commission for it which is quite popular in rural areas when someone receive money from their kids they don't go to an ATM they just use these small browsing centre like setups where they also offer these other services along with paying bills, recharges, zerox and many more.