Bitcoin Depot, once the largest network of crypto ATMs in North America, is calling it quits following mounting legal scrutiny and a state-by-state crackdown on Bitcoin teller machines (BTMs) over fraud concerns. The company, which operated kiosks where customers could exchange cash for Bitcoin, announced Monday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is winding down its operations. It operated 9,276 kiosks across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. In a press release, the company said its network of ATMs has already been taken offline and that it plans to sell its assets through a court-supervised process. Bitcoin Depot CEO Alex Holmes said in the press release that the current regulatory environment had made the company’s business model unsustainable. The news arrives as Bitcoin Depot is facing lawsuits from the attorneys general in Massachusetts and Iowa over allegations that it helped facilitate crypto scams.
“With this lawsuit, we’re alleging that instead of handling consumers’ money in good faith, Bitcoin Depot used misleading sales tactics to overcharge its customers and knowingly facilitated crypto scams that robbed Massachusetts consumers of more than $10 million dollars – all while removing safeguards against fraud and misleading investors in order to line their own pockets,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a press release in February.
