Albuquerque Bans Bitcoin ATMs, Giving Operators 45 Days to Remove Them

Albuquerque's city council approved an ordinance Wednesday that bans cryptocurrency kiosks and cashier-facilitated virtual currency transactions within city limits. Known operators and the retailers hosting the machines will be given 45 days to remove the kiosks, councilors said.

By AI NewsroomPublished 16 minutes agoUpdated 16 minutes ago0 views

Albuquerque Bans Bitcoin ATMs, Giving Operators 45 Days to Remove Them

Why It Matters

The move responds to local officials' claims that the kiosks are heavily used in fraud and other crimes and follows a string of statewide prohibitions and industry contractions, including the bankruptcy and large-scale kiosk removals by a major operator. The council framed the ban as a local remedy while broader federal or state responses remain uneven.

Key Facts

Ordinance passed: City council approved the ban on Wednesday
Scope: Bans crypto kiosks and cashier-facilitated virtual currency transactions inside Albuquerque
Removal deadline: Operators and hosting retailers have 45 days to remove machines
Sponsoring councilors: District 1 Councilor Stephanie Telles and District 7 Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn
Fraud claim: Telles said 90% of crypto ATM transactions in Albuquerque are tied to fraud

Albuquerque’s city council voted Wednesday to outlaw cryptocurrency kiosks and cashier-assisted virtual currency transactions within municipal boundaries. The ordinance requires that known kiosk operators and the businesses that host the machines be notified and remove them within 45 days. Councilors characterized the measure as a targeted step against a form of retail crypto access they say is frequently abused.

District 1 Councilor Stephanie Telles, who co-sponsored the measure with District 7 Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, said the kiosks are largely used in fraudulent activity and by criminal actors because transactions are immediate, anonymous and irreversible. Fiebelkorn added that the city could not wait for federal regulators to act while residents were allegedly being harmed locally. The council emphasized that the ban does not restrict residents from owning, mining or transferring cryptocurrency through online exchanges or personal wallets.

The Albuquerque action comes amid growing local and state pushback against crypto kiosks. States including Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota have enacted bans in recent months, and lawmakers in Delaware, New Jersey and Texas have considered or advanced measures after reports of widespread kiosk scams. The largest U.S. kiosk operator, Bitcoin Depot, filed for Chapter 11 in May and took roughly 9,700 kiosks offline, citing transaction limits and regulatory restrictions in some areas.

Public enforcement and complaint data cited by officials show a wider pattern of concern: Washington, D.C. authorities alleged that a high share of deposits into a small set of kiosks were fraudulently sourced, the FBI logged nearly 11,000 kiosk fraud complaints in 2024 with losses exceeding $246 million, and lawmakers have pointed to multi-million-dollar losses tied to kiosk scams in some states. City leaders in Albuquerque said the local prohibition is intended to cut off what they describe as an accessible conduit for those crimes.