U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has called for stronger safeguards around cryptocy ATMs, amid growing concerns that the machines have become a favored tool for scammers preying on seniors. Lummis said she intends to address the problem in upcoming market structure legislation she is co-sponsoring with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
“This is something that has concerned me for a long time, and Senator Gillibrand and I first introduced legislation stopping bad actors in the crypto kiosk space in 2023,” Lummis tweeted on Monday. “This is just one of the issues we hope to address in market structure.” The push comes as law enforcement and regulators see a surge in fraud tied to the machines, which allow users to deposit cryptocy using cash. In August, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a warning citing a 31% spike in victim losses in 2024, reaching nearly $247 million.
Complaints involving crypto kiosks nearly doubled to more than 10,956 incidents reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The agency noted that adults over 60 accounted for more than two-thirds of losses despite being among the least likely to use crypto services. State-level action has followed. Earlier this month, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued Athena Bitcoin, one of the country’s largest Bitcoin ATM operators, for allegedly charging undisclosed fees on scam-driven deposits while failing to implement adequate fraud protections.
The lawsuit claims Athena knowingly profited from scams, with 93% of deposits through its machines tied to fraudulent activity. Not everyone in the industry disputes the concerns. Paul Tarantino, president and CEO of ATM operator Byte Federal, told Decrypt he supports efforts to prevent abuse but warned against overreach. “Scams are preventable through smart regulation, not industry elimination — you don’t blame the pencil for the written word,” Tarantino said.
He added that his company calls every customer over 60 to screen for scams and has advocated for stronger protections in conversations with regulators and lawmakers. He added that in any case, 84% of people aged 60 or over who start registration with a Byte Federal kiosk never complete transactions. Tarantino believes efforts to impose strict fee limits could backfire, shutting down access to cash-to-crypto services for millions of legitimate users. He argued that fraud originates with bad actors, not the kiosks themselves. “Let’s collaborate on best practices rather than destructive regulations,” he said.
NFT platform Candy Digital has announced plans to migrate its digital collectibles ecosystem to the Solana blockchain, signaling…
The U.S. military has confirmed it is actively running a Bitcoin node as part of national security research, while…
The Web3 gaming sector is facing a harsh reality check as new data reveals that more…
Justin Sun, founder of TRON, has filed a federal lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture…
Tether has frozen approximately $344 million in USDT on the Tron blockchain after the wallets were flagged by U.S. authorities, marking…
Prediction market platform Kalshi has fined and suspended three U.S. congressional candidates after determining they engaged in “political…