The cryptocurrency community has welcomed Donald Trump’s re-election, pledged to strengthen the status of digital assets in the United States, end the practice of “enforcement regulation” and help establish national strategic preparations.
The first few months of the actual presidency are in stark contrast, and can generally be best described as a “mixed bag.” President Trump has led the SEC, which is more crypto-friendly, and while the Department of Justice (DOJ) is reducing digital asset management, the administration has had little advantage for traders.
One indicator of a worsening situation is the decline in the number of Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs in the US until the first quarter of 2025 (Q1). At the beginning of the year there were 30,119 such machines, but at the end of the first quarter there was 185 less. Coin ATM Radar It is highlighted in Finbold’s first quarter 2025 Cryptocurrency Market Report.
Furthermore, April proved to be even more harmful. In just nine days, another 70 ATMs disappeared, bringing the total to 29,864.
The decline may seem trivial compared to the total number, but the severity of the trend is evident worldwide in the fact that the number of such Bitcoin machines has increased by 279, bringing the total to 38,001 at the end of the first quarter. The April decline was not pointed out on a global scale as only four crypto ATMs disappeared.
Does the anti-Fullard law kill Bitcoin ATMs?
In addition to the decline in the number of installed Bitcoin ATMs, around 1,200 such machines went offline in the US in the first week of March, with little explanation.
Lost disappear, coinciding with Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, proposed laws that would crack down on fraud, including cryptocurrency ATMs. At the time, Durbin cited cases where he was scamned to deposit $15,000 in such a machine so that he would not be arrested for a fictitious arrest warrant.
Bitcoin price drop helps to erase BTC ATMs
Beyond the concerns of fraud and the possibility of the impact of anti-SCAM laws, it is difficult to overlook that the decline in the number of Bitcoin ATMs coincided with the decline in the price of BTC and the widespread loss of reputation that cryptocurrencies suffered.
To begin with, Bitcoin fell 18.75% in 2025, losing 10.87% of its value in April alone. The recession can directly link to the wider economic disruption caused by President Trump’s aggressive tariff policy and international backlash against the trade war.
At the same time, despite gaining more institutional acceptance, multiple events have deeply undermined the reliability of digital assets.
One recent event, perhaps directly attributed to Procrypto Trump, was the opportunistic launch of a presidential family-themed meme coin that was effectively pumped up by the inauguration.
