Virginia moves to tighten rules on crypto ATMs, stepping up safeguards against fraud

Uk Jin

Summary

Virginia said it is moving forward with legislation to regulate crypto ATMs to strengthen consumer protection.
It said that if enacted, measures such as operator registration and reporting obligations, identity verification procedures, and transaction limits would be introduced.
It said the bill includes a 48-hour transaction hold for new users, mandatory posting of fraud warning notices, and restrictions on marketing them as if they were regular ATMs.

The U.S. state of Virginia is pushing legislation to regulate the operation of crypto (cryptocurrency) ATMs, ramping up consumer protection. The move is seen as an effort to establish a formal framework at the state level as fraud schemes exploiting crypto ATMs have recently spread.

According to Cryptopolitan on the 14th (Korea time), the Virginia legislature has passed a crypto ATM regulation bill in both the Senate and the House of Delegates, leaving it awaiting the governor’s signature. If enacted, the bill would strengthen registration and reporting obligations for operators and introduce a range of restrictions aimed at protecting ATM users.

The bill includes a measure that would apply a 48-hour transaction hold for new users, allowing refunds if fraud is suspected. It also stipulates daily and monthly transaction limits, the introduction of identity-verification procedures for all transactions, and mandatory posting of fraud warning notices. It would also restrict marketing crypto ATMs as if they were standard automated teller machines (ATMs).

The bill was introduced by Democratic Delegate Michelle Maldonado. Maldonado cited cases such as a resident in southwest Virginia who was scammed out of about $15,000 via a crypto ATM, noting that the machines are installed in a form similar to regular ATMs, which can confuse users.