Share this article
Why Compliance Is the Biggest Team at Bitcoin ATM Startup Coinsource
We caught up with bitcoin ATM startup Coinsource on the show floor of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
By Brady Dale
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:05 a.m. Published Jan 13, 2020, 7:30 p.m.
Make us preferred on GoogleCoinsource, a well-known bitcoin ATM company, purchased a booth at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Given increased interest from the IRS in bitcoin ATMs, we were especially curious about how users reacted when Coinsource increased its know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
"Our compliance department is actually the largest department in our entire company," Coinsource's Derek Muhney told CoinDesk in the video above. Money-laundering concerns have long dogged the bitcoin ATM sector.
Muhney said Coinsource moved to require KYC of everyone two years ago, though the company had always required it for transactions over $800.
"We received little to no customer feedback [about the change]," Muhney said.
At the show, Coinsource was demoing one of its buy-only machines, where a user can use cash to buy bitcoin. The company also has machines that will dispense cash in exchange for bitcoin.
Coinsource ATMs take an 11 percent fee on any transaction. So that consumers know what they’re getting, Muhney said the company doesn’t try to make money off a spread, or the difference between the prices at which Coinsource buys and sells BTC. (It’s a transparency-boosting move that Square’s Cash App recently undertook as well.)
Coinsource is currently only offering bitcoin but Muhney said its software has been built to handle more cryptocurrencies. The company currently has more than 400 bitcoin ATMs deployed in 42 states.
“We really wanted to show off the fact that bitcoin adoption is on the rise,” Muhney said of his company’s presence at CES 2020. “The footprint of bitcoin ATMs on a global scale just continues to grow and grow.”
As for reactions from people on the floor, Muhney said that booth visitors were “excited to see that it's become so mainstream that they're seeing it at the Consumer Electronics Show."
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Coinbase CEO says Big banks now view crypto as an ‘existential’ threat to their business
Brian Armstrong returns from World Economic Forum with message: traditional finance is taking crypto seriously
What to know:
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said a top executive at one of the world’s 10 largest banks told him crypto is now the bank’s “number one priority” and an “existential” issue.
- At Davos, Armstrong highlighted tokenization of assets and stablecoins as major themes, arguing they could broaden access to investments for billions while threatening to bypass traditional banks.
- He described the Trump administration as the most crypto-forward government globally, backing efforts like the CLARITY Act, and predicted that AI agents will increasingly use stablecoins for payments outside conventional banking rails.
Top Stories
