The states of Delaware and New Jersey are advancing to ban bitcoin ATMs

[Chibit01]

Bitcoin ATM might not be one of those buying option that promotes privacy but people are still using it just as some feel comfortable using centralized exchange instead of Dex that protects their privacy, but one question for the state government, if their reason for closing down all crypto ATMs is because of it being mostly used to facilitate scam, will they also shutdown all money transmitter that are based or have been used by scammers ro scam their victims? When ever it comes to crypto and scam related they treat it differently as if scam started with it.

[Odusko]

What makes Bitcoin ATM unattractive to many is that you are required to go through some physical verification before using the ATM for your transaction but the limitations to this is that, this exposes a lot of user's to possible hack and attacks as we have read with some elderly people being the major victims of Bitcoin ATM crime's.

[JeffBrad12]

Honestly, what is the advantage of using a Bitcoin ATM? Since all of them are subjected to KYC compliance rules, and require you to give them information when it exceeds a certain amount (like $500), what's the point of paying a premium to an ATM for BTC when you can get it cheaper by going into a CEX or DEX?

This idea was fantastic until they were legally required to treat everyone a criminal.

It's basically obsolete piece of technology that people still holding on to. The rate used by these ATM are astonishingly high and the fee is astronomical.
Nobody actually need bitcoin ATM since everybody is owning a phone that allow them to access crypto market with significantly lower fees. Even if these two states bans bitcoin ATM it will affect nothing.

[Ishicryptic]

I don't see many people having interest in the use of Bitcoin ATM already, everything about it does not serve a good presentation on our privacy not to mention the challenges we have when it comes to locating one or even affording to make a transaction on the ATM because of the fees they charge.

It is because of the country you are from. You are either from a country that has no bitcoin ATMs or a country that have just one or two or very few bitcoin ATMs.

You can compare the bitcoin ATMs in your country to the bitcoin ATMs in the United States: https://coinatmradar.com/countries/

Although, I do not see it affect bitcoin because bitcoin can exist without the existence of bitcoin ATMs.

I also don't see anybody that is having interest in Bitcoin ATM in Nigeria, I believe that the reason is that we are not used to it but I cannot say the same for counties that have many Bitcoin ATMs. Since we can do Bitcoin transactions conveniently from our mobile phones and we can do online transfers which doesn't necessitate using physical cash so I don't think that the ATM is much relevant for Bitcoin holders. The important thing to note is that without Bitcoin ATM Bitcoin transactions can still go very smoothly in our privacy and that is why although in Nigeria, we have only 2 Bitcoin ATM there is no agitation from the Bitcoin community to have more ATMs in the country.

[macson]

It's just a Bitcoin ATM, and I don't think even if it's banned, it's going to have much of an impact on Bitcoin. However, if their goal is to combat scams, wouldn't it be better to regulate them and provide better education about Bitcoin ATM usage? If they simply ban them without any follow-up action, the problem will only escalate to other methods --- scammers are smarter these days if one opportunity is closed, they'll find another way to scam people.

[DiMarxist]

This is really an unfortunate situation that, we have here that states are planning on banding crypto currency ATMs simple due to fraud that has been associated with with. My question is that, apart from cry ATMs  has no fraud not been reported on your normal Fiat ATMs . This whole news sound strange to me because, has anyone thought of banding a ATM machine because some did fraud on the machines. From what I can sense in these states is that there is a high level of interest concerning crypto hence this types of moves. Banding crypto ATMs machines will not stop fraud any day and anywhere.

[Z-tight]

A few weeks ago, we also discussed about Canada's proposal to ban crypto atm's across the country. I have not seen any new information about that news and if they are still going to go ahead with it and when. However, it is still for the same reason as this one, fraud and money laundering, though some of the reported BTC atm fraud cases have to be amongst the 1000 Most Stupid Ways To Get Scammed.

I am not really big on BTC atm's, they request kyc just like centralized exchanges do, coupled with other obvious disadvantages, like high fees and potential target of a $5 wrench attack.

[Hamza2424]

If they are making a decision to band bitcoin ATM, I will not oppose their plight towards this, as long as this decision does not affect Bitcoin or being banned for their citizens.

I don't see many people having interest in the use of Bitcoin ATM already, everything about it does not serve a good presentation on our privacy not to mention the challenges we have when it comes to locating one or even affording to make a transaction on the ATM because of the fees they charge.

Yep, I also don't see this decision impacting anyone except the scammers. Also, these ATM users must not be that many, right? I have never used one myself, but I saw one recently. They are banning them here as well. The rules are becoming strict, and that's because recently a large number of senior citizens lost their funds through Bitcoin ATMs after scammers contacted them.

They thought the warnings were real and that if they did not move their funds from fiat into Bitcoin, they would lose everything. I wonder sometimes, it must be so hard to convince a senior citizen to withdraw their funds from a bank, so how do these MFs manage to make them do it haha?

[Felicity_Tide]

Also, these ATM users must not be that many, right?

I doubt if most victims were regular users of these ATMs. Perhaps, large number of all victims only made use of it for the very first time, before learning that they are been scammed. According to the link shared by the OP, there have been over 13,500 cases, with around $388M losses been recorded as at 2025. So, there's every reason to believe that most of the victims were first-time users.

They thought the warnings were real and that if they did not move their funds from fiat into Bitcoin, they would lose everything. I wonder sometimes, it must be so hard to convince a senior citizen to withdraw their funds from a bank, so how do these MFs manage to make them do it haha?

I think this scams are often carried out even before the victim does the transfer.
The biggest part of the scam is trying to convince the victim, and every scammer uses different techniques, from romance scam to investment, etc. When they're able to pull that off, then the transaction part of it won't be difficult. And that's why scrapping Bitcoin ATMs only makes it a bit tough for the scammers, but it still doesn't stop them. The vulnerabilities lies within humans, and not the ATM.

[Odogwu-Blockchain]

How are they using crypto ATM for fraudulent activities? Wasn't it very easy to purchase Bitcoin off debit cards to crypto wallet? Where is the fraud coming from.

When I rethink how fraud could come into the picture is only when a scammer instructed the victim to go to the ATM to conduct Bitcoin transactions to the scammer's account. Because many users aren't aware of how to properly use cards to purchase crypto unless scammers instructed and direct them.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Once they started forcing KYC, it was no longer worth paying a premium to buy Bitcoin through a crypto ATM. They are far less convenient than using a regulated centralized exchange. This has limited their usefulness to a small amount of people, many who are involved in criminal activity. They get around the KYC with fake or stolen documents or getting other people, usually the elderly, to buy it and send it to them.

Maybe these laws will prevent a small amount of people getting scammed, but criminals will just use different methods to victimize people, such as AI-assisted social engineering.

[Synchronice]

States that have banned crypto ATMs in the United States are Indiana, Tennessee, and Minnesota.

I can still remember that we discussed about Tennessee ban of crypto ATMs few months ago on this forum. The states of Delaware and New Jersey are advancing legislation to comprehensively ban the installation and operation of Crypto ATM devices, citing the same reasons, that the devices are widely used for fraudulent activities.

https://www.rootdata.com/news/667054

If they or any of the two states later ban crypto ATMs, I will post about it on this thread and add it to this lists. I will later edit this thread topic title to "list of states that have banned crypto ATMs to avoid posting more topics about it".

What do they think, if these devices are used for fraudulent activities, after banning crypto ATMs, these fraudulent activities will stop happening? USD is also involved in every fraudulent activity and the ATMs of their banks are also used for fraudulent activities, let's ban them too. Honestly, if crypto ATMs are really used for fraudulent activities, then it's good for them, they should focus on tracking transactions that are done via crypto ATMs. They can also verify the user before they use a crypto ATM by asking users to verify their mobile number or scan the passport and so on.

[Z-tight]

They can also verify the user before they use a crypto ATM by asking users to verify their mobile number or scan the passport and so on.

BTC atm's require kyc verification in most cases, so yeah you have to verify your identity before using any one of these machines, especially when the transaction is > $1000.

However, it is the victims that go to the machine to make the tx and not the scammers, so verification would not work for anything in this case. Scammers impersonate officials of banks, crypto exchanges or any other financial institution and they deceive the victims into taking cash to a BTC atm, deposit it and send them the converted BTC. It is a really gullible way to get scammed.

[Hamza2424]

I doubt if most victims were regular users of these ATMs. Perhaps, large number of all victims only made use of it for the very first time, before learning that they are been scammed. According to the link shared by the OP, there have been over 13,500 cases, with around $388M losses been recorded as at 2025. So, there's every reason to believe that most of the victims were first-time users.

What I mean to say is that the general users of these BTC ATMs might not be that many considering the high fees. I did not mean to say the ones who usually get scammed. Of course, people who have some experience with these ATMs would already know what they are doing and how they can be scammed, so they would not be scammed in the first place because they know crypto and that the funds won't be returned at all. There is no option for recovery.

Yep, I would say these people were either first time users, but if that were the case, then I think they would have mentioned it. The majority could be newbies, but not necessarily.

I think this scams are often carried out even before the victim does the transfer.
The biggest part of the scam is trying to convince the victim, and every scammer uses different techniques, from romance scam to investment, etc. When they're able to pull that off, then the transaction part of it won't be difficult. And that's why scrapping Bitcoin ATMs only makes it a bit tough for the scammers, but it still doesn't stop them. The vulnerabilities lies within humans, and not the ATM.

Yep there are many ways for these scammers to convince us into their story and they could sell anything. We have to be careful while buying.

[Floxynice]

We cannot stop the government from doing what they think is in the best interest of the state they are governing. The states are not banning crypto; they are only restricting the use of the means they believe scammers use to scam people. Bitcoin can exist and function perfectly without Bitcoin ATMs. I don't think any Bitcoin user will be badly affected by this news. If there is a possibility of a negative effect caused by banning Bitcoin ATMs, I would like to know how this affects Bitcoin users because I live in a country where this device is not common. This news leaves me feeling indifferent.