Maine secures $1.9M settlement for victims of bitcoin kiosk scam
A significant settlement of $1.9 million will be provided by Bitcoin Depot to individuals in Maine who have fallen victim to scams conducted by third-party scammers through the company’s kiosks. The accord was reached in partnership with the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, concluded after a thorough two-year inquiry involving the Office of the Maine Attorney General, and was formally agreed upon in December before being publicized earlier this week. Bitcoin Depot, headquartered in Atlanta, manages an extensive network of more than 25,000 kiosks across the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Hong Kong, as per its official website. It was responsible for approximately 80 unlicensed kiosks within Maine, a situation that altered significantly after the state introduced emergency regulations in June last year regarding the monitoring of virtual currency ATMs.
There has been a noticeable absence of Bitcoin Depot kiosks in Maine since last summer, as mentioned by Linda Conti, bureau superintendent overseeing the process. Reflecting on kiosk locations, most of Bitcoin Depot’s machines were predominantly found in York, Cumberland, Kennebec, and Penobscot counties. However, it remains unclear the precise number of affected individuals in Maine, the exact locations where these incidents occurred, or the specific quantum of money each victim might be entitled to receive upon filing a refund claim. The issuance and assessment of individual refunds will be determined post the examination of all claims received before the April 1, 2026 deadline, with refunds set to commence in May.
The fraudulent operations at Bitcoin Depot kiosks in Maine involved purchases of cryptocurrency being transferred to “unhosted wallets” facilitated by external malicious actors. Unhosted wallets refer to digital wallets controlled directly by users themselves rather than by any financial entity, money transmission services, or virtual asset service providers. Despite Bitcoin Depot no longer maintaining kiosks in Maine, an abundance of nearly 100 other cryptocurrency ATMs still operate throughout the state, including machines from entities like CoinFlip, CoinStar, and Coinme.
Investigations conducted by the bureau last year indicated that Bitcoin Depot kiosks in Maine offered functionalities akin to money transmissions, prompting a formal request for the company to apply for a money transmitter license. After submitting an incomplete application in March 2023, their final application was rejected in April 2025, with an appeal following in May. By July 2025, a list revealing consumer transactions highlighting potential financial loss incurred by Maine consumers due to third-party misuse was shared with Bitcoin Depot. As part of the settlement agreement, Bitcoin Depot is obligated to furnish a $1.9 million payment to the Maine Attorney General by early February and commited to full compliance with consumer protection laws in the role of a licensed money transmitter.
Despite the complexities involved, Bitcoin Depot remains licensed to transmit funds electronically in Maine and is under continued scrutiny by the bureau along with other cryptocurrency kiosk operators. Highlighting the value of consumer protection, Governor Janet Mills lauded the bureau’s efforts in reaching an agreement with Bitcoin Depot stressing the significance of safeguarding citizens against deceitful third-party exploiters. The recent consumer protection legislations in Maine have helped pave the way for this agreement, particularly the Maine Money Transmission Modernization Act of 2024 and the emergency regulations from June of last year limiting transaction limits, fee caps, and additional consumer-oriented provisions. In conclusion, the emergence of new technologies necessitates stringent measures to protect individuals from financial vulnerabilities against scammers and fraudulent activities, as seen in the recent scrutiny of cryptocurrency ATM operators in Maine.
