Overview
- Canada’s Liberal government, in Tuesday’s Spring Economic Update, proposed prohibiting all crypto ATMs after calling the machines a primary method used by scammers and cash launderers.
- Officials say the kiosks let people turn cash into bitcoin and other tokens with few checks under $1,000 and no teller to spot red flags, a setup fraudsters exploit by coaching victims to feed in cash.
- The proposal keeps in‑person cash‑to‑crypto access through brick‑and‑mortar money services businesses, though the update offers no timeline or implementation details for the ATM shutdown.
- The package boosts oversight of money services businesses and launches a specialized Financial Crimes Agency, with legislation introduced this week and $352.7 million over five years to build it out.
- Canada has nearly 4,000 crypto ATMs, the highest rate per capita, and FINTRAC’s 2023 analysis flagged them as the main tool for scam collections as peers from the U.K. to Australia and several U.S. states have already curbed or banned the machines.