Albuquerque Bans All Digital-Asset ATMs, Says 90% of Transactions Are Tied to Fraud
Summary
- The Albuquerque City Council in New Mexico passed an ordinance imposing a full ban on digital-asset ATMs after saying they had been exploited for fraud.
- The councilor who introduced the ordinance said 90% of Albuquerque digital-asset ATM transactions are tied to fraud and that high fees mean the machines are rarely used for legitimate transactions.
- Digital assets themselves were not banned, and as digital-asset ATM regulation spreads across the US, several states are moving to ban or regulate the machines.
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Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city, has banned all ATMs, or kiosks, that allow trading in digital assets such as Bitcoin, citing their use in fraud.
Decrypt reported on September 11 that the Albuquerque City Council passed an ordinance on September 9 prohibiting the operation of digital-asset ATMs across the city. Existing operators and retailers hosting the machines must remove them within 45 days of receiving notice.
City Councilor Stephanie Telles, who co-sponsored the ordinance, said 90% of digital-asset ATM transactions in Albuquerque are linked to fraud. High fees also mean the machines are rarely used for legitimate digital-asset trading, she added. Instead, they are being used by scam rings and human-trafficking groups to move criminal funds.
The ordinance does not ban digital assets themselves. Residents can still hold, mine and transfer digital assets through online exchanges and personal wallets.
Efforts to regulate digital-asset ATMs are spreading across the US. Indiana became the first state to impose a full ban on digital-asset ATMs in March, and Tennessee and Minnesota later followed. Delaware, New Jersey and Texas are also discussing related regulations.
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