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Legislators in North Dakota have introduced a bill aimed at restricting cryptocurrency ATM transactions and safeguarding residents against fraud.
The House Bill 1447 was presented to the state legislature on January 15, following reports from 103 state residents who experienced losses totaling $6.5 million due to crypto scams in 2023. The bill is primarily backed by Representative Steve Swiontek and seeks to establish essential consumer protections to combat such fraudulent activities.
The proposed legislation would limit daily ATM withdrawals to $1,000, according to the bill. Additionally, it would set transaction fees at a maximum of $5 or 3% of the total amount, whichever is greater.
Lisa Kruse, commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions, highlighted the increasing number of crypto-related fraud complaints from residents. On Wednesday, Kruse spoke before the House Industry, Business, and Labor Committee, emphasizing the $6.5 million in losses reported in 2023.
According to an FBI report from September 2024, Americans lost $5.6 billion to cryptocurrency fraud in 2023 alone. Furthermore, 5,500 fraud cases involved cryptocurrency ATMs, resulting in losses exceeding $189 million.
During the Wednesday Committee hearing, Swiontek pointed out that current crypto ATMs do not have the security features that traditional cash ATMs possess.
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“Unfortunately, this has enabled criminals to exploit them for theft,” Swiontek remarked.
Bill to Protect Elderly Residents from Crypto Fraud
Meanwhile, Josh Askvig, North Dakota director of the American Association of Retired Persons, stated that the legislation would assist elderly residents in avoiding crypto scams.
The bill indicated that in addition to ATMs displaying warnings about fraud, the machines would also advise users to contact law enforcement if a scam is suspected. The notice would include a cautionary message indicating that funds lost to fraud may not be recoverable.
Kevin Lolli from crypto ATM operator CoinFlip mentioned during the hearing that the company opposes the bill’s fee and transaction limits provision. However, he expressed support for the proposed consumer protections.
Lolli informed state lawmakers that the reduced fee would impact ATM operators’ ability to cover various expenses, including costs related to hardware, maintenance, and rental to local businesses hosting the machine. He noted that ATM operators typically charge a fee ranging from 8% to 20%.
The post North Dakota Introduces Bill to Limit Crypto ATM Transactions to Combat Fraud appeared first on Cryptonews.
