Bitcoin Depot Tightens The Rules: Show Your ID Or No Deal
Americans misplaced $333 million to crypto ATM fraud final yr alone. That staggering quantity sits on the coronary heart of why Bitcoin Depot, the nation’s greatest Bitcoin ATM operator, simply made a sweeping change to the way it does enterprise — one which impacts each single one that walks as much as one among its machines.
Starting this February, the corporate started rolling out a requirement for customers to point out identification earlier than finishing any transaction, not simply when signing up for the primary time. No ID, no Bitcoin. Simple as that.
A History Of Half-Measures
It isn’t as if Bitcoin Depot had by no means tried to handle fraud earlier than. Back in October 2025, the corporate launched ID checks for brand new customers becoming a member of the platform. But returning prospects? They may preserve transacting with out additional scrutiny. Critics say that hole was large sufficient for dangerous actors to slide by way of — and the numbers counsel they did precisely that.
The FBI’s information on crypto ATM-related fraud losses final yr made it unimaginable to disregard the dimensions of the issue. Scammers, lots of them concentrating on aged Americans, have perfected a disturbing routine: they coach victims into feeding money into Bitcoin ATMs below false pretenses — pretend authorities notices, phony tech assist calls — then vanish as soon as the cash clears. Because Bitcoin transactions can’t be reversed, victims are virtually all the time left with nothing.
Legal Heat From All Directions
Bitcoin Depot has not simply been coping with dangerous headlines. It has been coping with attorneys. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell filed a lawsuit in opposition to the corporate this month, alleging it knowingly allowed crypto scams to occur whereas stripping away fraud protections.
Campbell’s workplace requested a courtroom to dam Bitcoin Depot from accepting any transaction above $10,000 until extra fraud-prevention steps had been taken.
Maine informed a special story — one with a price ticket. The firm reached a $1.9 million settlement with that state’s client credit score bureau after agreeing to return cash to rip-off victims. And Iowa’s Supreme Court dominated, considerably controversially, that Bitcoin Depot was legally permitted to maintain money deposited by way of scams, since prospects should verify they personal the receiving pockets.
According to reviews, no less than 17 US states have now handed legal guidelines demanding higher protections at crypto ATMs, together with every day spending limits and clearer fraud warnings posted on the machines.
9,000 Machines, One New Rule
Bitcoin Depot’s attain is gigantic. Reports say the corporate operates over 9,000 kiosks throughout North America, making it the dominant participant in a US market that accounts for 78% of all Bitcoin ATMs worldwide — greater than 31,000 machines in whole, primarily based on information from Coin ATM Radar.
CEO Scott Buchanan framed the brand new ID coverage as a safety improve, not only a authorized protect. “By requiring identification verification at each transaction, we’re taking a further step to strengthen safety, defend prospects, and preserve the integrity of our providers,” he stated.
The firm says steady verification will enable it to flag suspicious habits tied to particular prospects, areas, or quantities earlier than a transaction is even authorised.
Featured picture from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
