Cryptocurrency ATMs and cryptofication of everyday life: The uneven diffusion of crypto into quotidian spaces and places

Abstract

Extant geographical literature about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies has focused on unveiling these technologies’ material dimensions (the localized impacts of cryptocurrency ‘mining’) and evaluating their potential to disrupt or disintermediate the financial sector. Less has been said about the ‘consumer end’ of these technologies (e.g. the purchase, sale, and exchange of cryptocurrencies). The present paper makes a preliminary attempt to address this gap in the literature by examining cryptocurrency ATMs (CATMs) – one of numerous ‘points of contact’ between ‘the virtual’ and ‘the material’ within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Drawing inspiration from literature on FinTech-inflected financialization of everyday life and ‘financial democratization’, the authors use quantitative data to demonstrate that cryptocurrencies, via CATMs, are increasingly embedded into quotidian spaces, but in an uneven, variegated fashion. This implies that CATMs are an as-yet specialized financial innovation, but which might be disproportionately encountered by particular social groups. Building on this observation, the authors argue that CATMs, like other forms of FinTech, might represent another area in which user-interface design is used to encourage the use of ‘fringe’ financial products among marginalized populations. The article concludes by summarizing this research and indicating potential directions for future research.