Crypto ATMs surge 17X in Australia amid concerns over use by bad actors

Australia has seen the number of new crypto ATMs swell by 17 times in the past two years, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for the kiosks, despite rising concerns over their use by malicious actors.

The country is now the world’s third-largest market for crypto ATMs with 1,162 machines — up from just 67 in August 2022, data from Coin ATM Radar shows.

This means that 160 ATMs have been added since the end of April, when Australia just crossed the milestone of having over 1,000 active machines in operation.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said in an Aug. 28 post that the ATM boom down under was “the most significant expansion of the cash-to-crypto industry over the last few years.”

Still, Australia has just a 3% share of the global market — far short of the United States dominating share of over 82% with its 31,877 ATMs, followed by Canada’s 3,004 machines and 7.8% share.

However, the boom is unlikely to have gone unnoticed by law enforcement. 

TRM Labs’ added that Australia’s authorities have marked the crypto kiosks “as a money laundering vulnerability.” 

In March last year, the Australian Federal Police launched a multi-agency money laundering task force, noting that some criminals used crypto ATMs to wash their ill-gotten gains.

Crypto ATMs process $160M of illicit txs

TRM Labs said authorities and regulators globally have concerns about the role of crypto ATMs in scams and crimes, arguing they have a heightened vulnerability for use in money laundering due to their use of cash and typically don’t require an account to use.

The firm said that the cash-to-crypto industry is “dominated by crypto ATMs,” and its analysis found that since 2019, the sector has processed at least $160 million worth of illicit transactions.

“Last year, illicit volumes in the cash-to-crypto industry stood at 1.2% of total volume, double the 0.63% for the overall crypto ecosystem,” it added.

Scams and fraud accounted for the majority of illicit volumes in 2023 as over $30 million — nearly 80% of the total illicit volume — went to known scam and fraud-linked crypto wallets, per TRM Labs’ analysis.

Related: California county to regulate Bitcoin ATMs backed by state laws

The firm noted that some kiosks display an anti-scam warning or checklist to ensure users aren’t using them for the wrong reasons. 

Some regulators have cracked down on crypto ATMs, with Germany’s financial watchdog seizing 13 kiosks from 35 locations last week on Aug. 20.

Last year, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority also pulled 26 unlicensed crypto ATMs, which TRM Labs said reduced the number of active machines in Britain by 90%.

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