Texas Weighs Statewide Ban on Bitcoin ATMs After $56.8 Million in Fraud Losses

Texas is considering a statewide ban on Bitcoin ATMs as scams involving the machines continue to proliferate.

Decrypt reported on July 31 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation recorded $56.8 million in losses tied to Bitcoin ATM scams in Texas last year, the highest total of any US state.

Texas received 1,179 related reports last year. Nationwide, authorities logged 13,460 reports during the same period, with losses totaling $389 million, up 58% from a year earlier.

Bitcoin ATMs are often installed at gas stations and convenience stores. Scammers exploit them by directing victims to withdraw cash from banks and then deposit the money into the machines. Texas currently has about 4,000 Bitcoin ATMs in operation.

With the losses continuing, Texas officials are reviewing a proposal to ban Bitcoin ATMs altogether. State Representative Cole Hefner, chairman of the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs, said lawmakers are considering measures that go beyond simple regulation and signaled plans to introduce related legislation.

In the US, Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota have already banned Bitcoin ATM operations statewide. South Dakota, Wisconsin and Virginia have imposed transaction limits, while Maine reached a $1.9 million restitution settlement with Bitcoin Depot tied to related losses.