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

In brief

• Albuquerque city council passed an ordinance on Wednesday banning crypto kiosks and cashier-facilitated virtual currency transactions.
• Operators and the businesses hosting the machines face a 45-day removal deadline.
• Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota have already banned the machines statewide, and the largest U.S. operator went bankrupt in May.

Albuquerque has banned cryptocurrency ATMs within city limits, with an ordinance passed by the city council on Wednesday that also covers cashier-facilitated virtual currency transactions.

The city will now notify known operators and the retailers hosting their machines, who have 45 days to take them out.

District 1 Councilor Stephanie Telles, who co-sponsored the measure with District 7 Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, said 90% of crypto ATM transactions in Albuquerque are tied to fraud. "No one who legitimately exchanges or transmits virtual currency uses these kiosks, because the high fees make them a ripoff," Telles said in a press release. She argued that they are primarily used by "Scammers, organized crime, and human traffickers" because the transactions are instant, anonymous, and irreversible.

"We cannot wait for federal regulators to solve this crisis while our residents are actively being targeted and harmed in our own neighborhoods," Fiebelkorn added.