Albuquerque has moved to shut down physical cryptocurrency kiosks after the City Council approved a citywide prohibition on virtual currency ATMs and cashier-assisted crypto transactions.
The ordinance, passed on September 10, 2026, requires operators and host businesses to take existing machines offline and remove them within 45 days after official notice.
Councilors Stephanie W. Telles of District 1 and Tammy Fiebelkorn of District 7 sponsored the measure.
City officials framed the ban as a consumer-protection response to scams that use cash-to-crypto kiosks.
Telles said most local kiosk activity is linked to fraud and argued that high fees make the machines unattractive for ordinary users.
She described the devices as tools favored by scammers and other criminals because transfers happen immediately, leave little useful trail for victims, and cannot be reversed once cash is converted.
The ban is limited in scope. Residents may still own, mine, and transfer digital assets through online exchanges and personal wallets.
The ordinance targets the physical hardware and in-person cashier arrangements that convert cash into virtual currency on the spot, not cryptocurrency itself.
Supporters pointed to statewide losses.
New Mexico recorded tens of millions of dollars in crypto-related fraud in 2025, with a large share affecting older adults.
Separate figures cited by officials put kiosk-linked losses in the state at about $2.2 million that year, a number they said understates the problem because many victims never report the crime.
Impersonation schemes—callers posing as bank staff, tech support, or government agents—often pressure people to withdraw cash and feed it into a nearby machine.
Once the transaction completes, recovery is rare.Albuquerque is not the first US jurisdiction to take this step.
Several states have already banned crypto ATMs statewide, and other cities have adopted similar rules.
Local estimates put roughly four dozen machines in the Albuquerque area, typically in convenience stores, laundromats, and similar retail sites.
After the vote, the city said it would notify known operators and property hosts of the removal deadline.
Noncompliance can trigger accumulating daily fines, license action, and court orders to take machines out.
Critics of such bans sometimes argue that kiosks offer cash access for people without bank accounts or who prefer not to use online platforms.
City leaders countered that the fee structure and irreversibility make the machines a poor option for legitimate users and an efficient one for fraud.
Fiebelkorn said local government should not wait for federal rules while residents continue to lose money in neighborhood stores.Implementation now shifts to notification and enforcement.
Host businesses that leave machines in place after the deadline risk penalties. For Albuquerque residents who use digital assets, everyday online trading and self-custody remain lawful. The policy simply closes one physical on-ramp that officials concluded was doing more harm than good.