On Friday, September 11, 2026, Decrypt reported that the City of Albuquerque in New Mexico has banned cryptocurrency ATMs within its city limits, giving operators 45 days to remove them.
The ordinance, passed by the city council on Wednesday, also encompasses cashier-facilitated virtual currency transactions. Known operators and retailers hosting these machines will be notified and given the 45-day period to comply.
District 1 Councilor Stephanie Telles, who co-sponsored the measure with District 7 Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, stated that an estimated 90% of crypto ATM transactions in Albuquerque are linked to fraud. Telles argued that legitimate users of virtual currency do not typically use these kiosks due to high fees, suggesting they are primarily utilized by “Scammers, organized crime, and human traffickers” because transactions are instant, anonymous, and irreversible.
Fiebelkorn added that the city cannot await federal regulators to address the issue, as residents are actively being targeted and harmed. The council clarified that residents will still be permitted to own, mine, and transfer cryptocurrency through online exchanges and personal wallets.
This ban in Albuquerque follows a trend of similar prohibitions across the United States. Indiana enacted its ban in March, Tennessee followed in July, and Minnesota’s ban took effect in August. Delaware has advanced a bill, New Jersey is considering similar legislation, and Texas lawmakers are reportedly examining a ban following kiosk scams that cost residents an estimated $57 million.
The article also notes that Bitcoin Depot, formerly the largest operator in North America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May and subsequently removed approximately 9,700 kiosks. Chief executive Alex Holmes cited transaction limits and jurisdictional restrictions as reasons for this move.
Telles’s figure of 90% fraud is presented as high but not unique, referencing a lawsuit filed by Washington, D.C.’s attorney general against Athena Bitcoin last year. In that case, 93% of deposits into Athena’s seven kiosks over a five-month period were reportedly fraudulent, with a median victim age of 71. Athena Bitcoin reportedly disagreed with these findings. The FBI logged nearly 11,000 kiosk fraud complaints in 2024, totaling over $246 million.
Athena Bitcoin is a founding industry member of the Cryptocurrency Anti-Fraud Education (CAFE) Association, a nonprofit organization focused on protecting consumers from cryptocurrency fraud and scams. CAFE works to educate the public about crypto-related risks, develop industry best practices for fraud prevention and consumer protection, and promote greater transparency, accountability, and trust across the digital finance sector.
Source: Decrypt
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