Wisconsin Democrats Crack Down on Crypto ATMs: New Bills Demand Tighter Scrutiny

Wisconsin Democrats are turning up the heat on crypto ATMs with a legislative push aimed at curbing potential misuse—because nothing says 'financial innovation' like more red tape.

The proposed bills would impose stricter reporting requirements on operators, forcing them to track transactions like traditional ATMs. Critics argue it's a solution in search of a problem, while supporters claim it's necessary to prevent money laundering—because clearly, criminals prefer $50 increments at gas stations.

Either way, the move signals growing regulatory interest in the Wild West of crypto's physical outposts. Watch for lobbyists to fight harder than a Bitcoin maxi at a fiat convention.

Roys warns ‘exciting’ emerging tech invites scams  

State Sen. Roys warned that although emerging tech could be “exciting,” it also invited scams or fraud. She hopes her fellow Senate members will “do something” about these rising crypto fraud cases this session.

Roys pointed out that many of these crypto kiosks resembling ATMs evade many regulations. The Senator added that States need to step up customer protection because crypto kiosk guardrails are less transparent or regulated than most people assume.  She said she wants to see Wisconsin crypto consumers “protected too.”

Sergeant Scott Goldberg, an investigator at the Wood County Sheriff’s Department, claimed that victims were losing between $2,000 and upwards of $60,000 at a time in scams. He said fraud complaints at crypto kiosks started two years ago. However, he was concerned that how often they happened was not as important as how much was lost at a time. 

“That’s the real concern. In Wood County, we’re probably an average-sized county in the state population-wise, so I can’t imagine what it is like down in Dane County or Milwaukee County, where the mass populations are, or in the Fox Valley, where there’s just a lot more people.”

–Sgt. Scott Goldberg, Investigator at the Wood County Sheriff’s Department

Goldberg complained that scams are taking place everywhere, but law enforcement is “handcuffed” to the extent to which it can help with such scams. However, he warned that consumers should be vigilant. People should pause, stop, and physically call banks and law enforcement agencies when they run into suspected fraud.

Kumar says bills help build public trust 

Dileep Kumar, Director at Digital South Trust, said the bills aimed to build public trust, albeit limiting high-value trades. Kumar also noted that the bills could reduce anonymity but pave the way for safer and more credible crypto adoption in daily transactions.

Roys claimed that everyone wanted to spend their money however they chose without fear of losing it all to fraudsters. The co-founder of the Giottus crypto exchange, Arjun Vijay, pointed out that physical kiosks without strong KYC protocols are implicated in illicit activities and money laundering.

Wisconsin lawmakers emphasized they are proposing an anti-fraud bill, not an anti-crypto bill. The bills propose that kiosk operators collect and verify every individual’s full legal name, date of birth, telephone number, residence address, and email. The operators must also obtain a copy of an individual’s government-issued ID, passport, or driver’s license.

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