Security

UK shuts down 26 unregistered crypto ATMs

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July 11, 2023

The Financial Conduct Authority of the U.K. has shut down 26 cryptocurrency ATMs in the country for not registering with the FCA.

The news comes after the agency told all crypto ATM operators, in mid February, to either register and comply with money laundering regulations or shut down, according to a report by Coin Telegraph.

The FCA has inspected 34 crypto ATM locations since the beginning of 2023. It believes the machines are often used by criminals, particularly scammers.

"If you use a crypto ATM in the U.K., you are using a machine that is operating illegally and you may be handing your money over to criminals," Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, told the news outlet.

Scammers remain an issue for bitcoin ATMs in the U.S. as well. Recently, a sheriff in McLennan County, Texas, opened and took money from a bitcoin ATM after an 82-year old woman claimed she had been scammed out of $15,000 by an individual who told her to deposit money into a bitcoin ATM. The bitcoin ATM operator has sued the sheriff's department for the funds, claiming the machine gives sufficient warning of scams to users.