Albuquerque Bans Bitcoin ATMs, Operators Must Remove Within 45 Days

Albuquerque Bans Cryptocurrency ATMs Amid Fraud Concerns

Albuquerque has outlawed cryptocurrency ATMs within its city limits, enacting an ordinance on Wednesday that also extends to virtual currency transactions facilitated by cashiers.

Known operators and the retailers hosting these machines will be notified by the city and given 45 days to remove them.

Councilor Stephanie Telles of District 1, who co-sponsored the measure with Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn of District 7, stated that 90% of crypto ATM transactions in Albuquerque are linked to fraudulent activity. “No one who legitimately exchanges or transmits virtual currency uses these kiosks, because the high fees make them a ripoff,” Telles said in a press release. She argued that they are primarily utilized by “scammers, organized crime, and human traffickers” due to the instant, anonymous, and irreversible nature of the transactions.

“We cannot wait for federal regulators to solve this crisis while our residents are actively being targeted and harmed in our own neighborhoods,” Fiebelkorn added.

Residents will still be permitted to own, mine, and transfer cryptocurrency through online exchanges and personal wallets, according to the council.

The city’s ban follows a trend of statewide prohibitions. Indiana initiated such a ban in March, Tennessee followed in July, and Minnesota’s ban, proposed in the spring, took effect in August. Delaware has advanced a similar bill, New Jersey is considering one, and Texas lawmakers are weighing a ban after kiosk scams cost residents $57 million.

Bitcoin Depot, formerly the largest operator in North America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May and removed approximately 9,700 kiosks offline. Chief Executive Alex Holmes cited transaction limits and “in some jurisdictions, outright restrictions or bans” as contributing factors.

While Telles’s 90% figure is substantial, it is not an isolated statistic. Washington, D.C.’s attorney general sued Athena Bitcoin last year after discovering that 93% of deposits into its seven kiosks in the city over a five-month period were the result of fraud, with the median victim age being 71. Athena stated at the time that it strongly disagreed with the findings. The FBI logged nearly 11,000 kiosk fraud complaints in 2024, totaling more than $246 million.