Democrats from Wisconsin introduced the second legislative initiative in two weeks aimed at Exacerbation of regulations regarding cryptocurrency exchange offices. The reason is alarming statistics of fraud, which in 2024 consumed nearly $ 247 million.
Two identical laws in response to the crisis
Senator Kelda Roys and her six colleagues laid on Monday Senate Bill 386which is a reflection of Assembly Bill 384 introduced a month earlier by MP Ryan Spaude. Both projects signal the urgent need to control digital terminals scattered around gas stations and grocery stores throughout the state. It is about kiosks, exchange offices and atm (i.e. bitomets).
The initiative takes on significance in the context of the warning issued by Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Finnce) of the US Department of the Treasury, which he documents 99% increase in complaints regarding fraud related to cryptocurrency kiosks in 2024.
Comprehensive safety regulations
The proposed regulations introduce a number of rigorous requirements for kiosks operators:
Licensing and verification of identity:
- Mandatory licenses of monetary messages in Wisconsin
- Comprehensive identity verification before the first transaction
- Collecting personal data: surname, date of birth, address, telephone number and photo ID
Transaction limits and fees:
- Daily replacement limit: maximum $ 1,000 for the client
- Limiting operators’ fees to $ 5 or 3% of the transaction value
- Obligatory warnings about fraud on each terminal
The scale of the problem in numbers
Wisconsin has 582 Bitcoin ATMs out of 31,439 operating throughout the United States. The losses of victims of fraud increased by 31% to almost $ 247 million, which makes this problem one of the most serious challenges in the cryptocurrency industry.
Arjun Vijay, founder of the Giottus cryptocurrency exchange, comments on the matter in this way:
Although cryptocurrency kiosks were a natural extension of the cryosystem of the crypto, the lack of solid protocols KYC made them prone to money laundering and illegal activity
Consumer protection in the first place
STANDS ALSO include compulsory return policy for the victims of fraud, which will report the case to the authorities within 30 days. This is a key protection, especially for older people who are most often victims of this type of crime.
Dileep Kumar HV, director of Digital South Trust, emphasizes the positive aspects of the new regulations:
Although this may limit high -value transactions and reduce anonymity, it builds public trust, paving the path of safer adoption of digital currencies
Global regulatory trend
Wisconsin is not lonely in its activities. Australia has already introduced transaction limits, New Zealand is preparing for a total ban, and the city of Spokane, Washington completely eliminated Cryptocurrency kiosks after federal investigations revealing billions of dollars losses related to fraud.
Both bills from Wisconsin are now waiting for the Commission review in the relevant chambers. In the case of adopting, customer identification requirements will come into force 60 days after passing of the Act, which can significantly change the landscape of the cryptocurrency industry in Wisconsin.
The development of the situation will certainly be observed by other states that consider similar regulations in the face of the growing number of fraud related to exchange offices, kiosks and cryptocurrency atm.
