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A Minnesota lawmaker has introduced a bill that could ban virtual currency kiosks across the state after reports of incidents involving crypto-related scams.
In a Thursday session of the Minnesota House of Representatives Commerce Finance and Policy Committee, Representative Erin Koegel said the bill, House File 3642, would address the “novel” and “minimally regulated” technology of crypto kiosks.
Koegel said she had heard from state law enforcement agencies that many scammers used the kiosks to trick residents into sending crypto, while legitimate traders tended to use centralized exchanges.
“Because of the nature of cryptocurrency, these fraudulent transactions are often irreversible and incredibly hard to track,” said Koegel, adding:
“This bill gives us an opportunity to work across party lines to protect the people of Minnesota from irreversible financial crimes.”
Rep. Erin Koegel speaking on Thursday. Source: Minnesota House of RepresentativesMinnesota’s government already passed a law in 2024 attempting to fight scammers using the state’s virtual currency kiosks. The law set a $2,000 deposit limit for new kiosk users and required companies to issue full refunds for fraud victims. However, Koegel’s bill, if passed, could fully ban the technology in Minnesota.
“Within the past couple of years, we've definitely identified an issue with these Bitcoin ATMs, specifically in our jurisdiction,” said Sergeant Jake Lanz of the St. Cloud Police Department at the Thursday committee meeting. “[...] it also is notable for us that it is definitely a target of our aging population."
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According to the House, Minnesota has about 350 licensed crypto kiosks operated by several companies, including Bitcoin Depot and Coinflip. The American Association of Retired Persons reported in February that 17 states had laws on the books requiring crypto ATM operators to implement protections against fraudsters, such as setting daily transaction limits and requiring fraud warning signs.
Bitcoin ATM operator to require IDs for all transactions
On Tuesday, Bitcoin Depot, one of the largest crypto ATM operators in the US, announced that it would implement a policy requiring ID verification for users with every transaction at one of its machines. The phased rollout, which began in February, was in response to “potential misuse,” though the company did not specifically mention state-level crackdowns on scammers.
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