At the beginning of March, the United States (USA) witnessed the closure of 1,233 crypto ATMs, a few days after the introduction of the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act.
This bill, proposed by Senator Dick Durbin, aims to combat fraud in the cryptocurrency sector by requiring crypto ATM operators to alert users to prevent scams and equipping law enforcement with tools to track illicit transactions.
Summary
The current situation of Crypto ATM in the United States (USA)
In light of these closures, the network of crypto ATMs in the United States has experienced a slight contraction.
However, the country continues to hold the record with 29,731 crypto ATM, representing 79.9% of all cryptocurrency ATMs worldwide. Canada and Australia follow with 3,085 and 1,467 ATMs, respectively.
Senator Durbin presented the bill on February 25, 2023, after a fraud incident involving one of his constituents.
During the same month, 860 new ATMs were installed in the United States, but in the first days of March, the global network saw a net reduction of 1,100 machines.
Despite the closure in the United States, new installations have slightly offset the loss, with new ATMs in Europe, Canada, Spain, Poland, Australia, and Switzerland. Currently, 37,226 crypto ATMs are operational worldwide.
Future prospects and regulation
The growth of the crypto ATM ecosystem has stabilized since mid-2022 due to regulatory changes and the crackdown on unregistered activities.
The bill proposed by Durbin seeks to introduce preventive measures to reduce the loss of funds and improve the traceability of illicit transactions.
The closure of such a significant number of crypto ATMs in the United States raises questions about the sustainability and security of the bull and bear cryptocurrency market.
The Durbin bill proposal could represent an important step towards greater user protection, but it remains to be seen how it will influence the adoption and future expansion of these technologies.
The crucial question is: will this regulation lead to greater trust in the sector or will it hinder innovation and the adoption of cryptocurrencies?
