Australia’s minister for cybersecurity and home affairs, Tony Burke, has unveiled draft legislation that would empower the country’s financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, to restrict or ban crypto ATMs.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Thursday, Burke said the proposed law would allow AUSTRAC to prohibit “high-risk products,” including crypto ATMs. While traditional bank ATMs have also been exploited for scams, Burke noted that crypto ATMs pose a greater challenge for law enforcement, as tracking illicit transactions and tracing laundered funds through them has proven increasingly difficult.
Australia was initially slow to adopt crypto ATMs, but the market saw rapid growth toward the end of 2022 as private firms began entering the space. The country has since become the world’s third-largest hub for crypto ATMs, with 2,008 machines in operation, a sharp rise from just 67 in August 2022.
Major Operators Defend Compliance as AUSTRAC Tightens Oversight
Over half of Australia’s crypto ATMs are run by just three companies, Localcoin with 868 machines, Coinflip with 682, and Bitcoin Depot with 267.
AUSTRAC has previously carried out several enforcement actions against crypto ATM operators, and in June, it introduced new rules governing operations and transaction limits.
