Bitcoin Depot, touted as the largest crypto ATM player in the U.S., has decided to upgrade its transaction verification criteria to curb illicit usecases. The Atlanta, U.S.-headquartered company on Tuesday announced the roll-out of an identity verification mandate for all transactions on its ATM machines.
The move is part of Bitcoin Depot’s “First-Transaction ID Verification” policy that started to roll out earlier this month. In the coming weeks, all transactions initiated on these crypto ATM machines will first require the user to identify themselves using a government ID.
“Continuous verification allows us to detect suspicious activity based on customers, locations, or transaction amount before a transaction is approved. By requiring identity verification at every transaction, we are taking an additional step to strengthen security, protect customers,” said Scott Buchanan, CEO, Bitcoin Depot.
Data by CoinATMRadar, Bitcoin Depot is the largest crypto ATM player in the U.S. that operates over 9,000 machines and controls 28.9 percent of the crypto ATM market share. With this advanced ID verification system, the ATM company could make a notable dent in cases of exploit of crypto ATMs.
Source: CryptoATMRadar
This compliance tightening is aimed particularly at users returning to the ATM machines, in order to ensure that suspicious transactions could be detected more efficiently.
The development comes at a time when the U.S. is intensifying crackdown on crypto ATMs. In 2024, an FBI report said nearly 11,000 complaints related to crypto scams involved crypto ATM machines. The funds part of these fraud complaints amounted to $246 million after which around 20 U.S. states tightened their respective crypto regulations. In fact, a number of American cities like Stillwater in Minnesota, Spokane in Washington and Grosse Pointe Farms in Michigan went ahead to ban crypto ATMs.
Not just the U.S., but other countries like New Zealand and the U.K. are taking steps to make crypto ATMs safer against fraudsters, scammers, and exploiters.