Bitcoin ATMs across the world are facing difficult times. As per a Coin ATM radar report, the global Bitcoin ATM network lost a staggering 435 and 182 machines in the last two months. The authorities have cited the bitcoin ATMs alleged link to criminal activities like scams and extortion.
A major chunk of the ATMs shut down in July and August were from the United States. Around 669 ATMS were shut down in the US during that timeframe
The latest development comes amid data from the Federal Trade Commission revealing a huge increase in the amount of money consumers report losing to scammers involving Bitcoin ATM machines. As per reports, illicit cash is often put into an ATM in return for digital assets, which are then spun through several transactions until their origins become impossible to trace.
The report stated that since 2020, consumer losses have increased nearly tenfold to more than $110 million in 2023. The report pointed out that fraud losses to Bitcoin ATMs reached $65 million in the first six months of 2024, increasing 10-fold from 2020 to 2023.
FTC stated that most scammers create some urgent justification for consumers to take cash out of their bank accounts and put it into a crypto ATM.
“As soon as consumers scan a QR code provided by scammers at the machine, their cash is deposited straight into the scammers’ crypto account”, FTC alleged.
Last year, Bitcoin of America agreed to shut down operations in the US state of Connecticut after the state’s Department of Banking charged the company with operating money transmitter services without a license. Bitcoin ATMs are banned in some countries, like the U.K. and Singapore.
As per blockchain intelligence firm TRM labs, crypto kiosks/ATMs dominate the cash-to-crypto industry, which has processed a staggering $160 million in illicit volumes around the world since 2019.
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