Bitcoin ATM provider Coinsource is expanding in Alaska after receiving the state’s first and only Alaska Money Transmitter License. Coinsource joins four other operators of Bitcoin ATMs — known as BTMs — in Alaska, none of which have such a license.

The Alaska Division of Banking and Securities license provides a guarantee that money transmitters engage in legal and ethical business practices. Although BTM providers can operate in Alaska without a license, doing so may put their users at risk of financial loss.

Coinsource says it provides BTMs within a 15-minute drive of 75 percent of the U.S. population.

In 2020, Coinsource tripled the number of BTMs it operated across the U.S. as the BTM industry experienced growth of 177%.

Despite Coinsource’s upbeat outlook for the BTM business, the growing adoption of digital transactions using e-wallets has led some finance industry observers to suggest that ATMs and BTMs may become outdated.