State regulators have suspended a bitcoin ATM operator’s license to transmit money in the state and ordered the company’s cryptocurrency kiosks to shut down, citing a pattern of alleged consumer scam losses, illegal fees and deceptive business practices. Banking Commissioner Jorge Perez issued the emergency order against Bitcoin Depot on March 9, saying that public […]
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State regulators have suspended a bitcoin ATM operator’s license to transmit money in the state and ordered the company's cryptocurrency kiosks to shut down, citing a pattern of alleged consumer scam losses, illegal fees and deceptive business practices.
Banking Commissioner Jorge Perez issued the emergency order against Bitcoin Depot on March 9, saying that public safety and welfare “imperatively require” action, according to the Department of Banking enforcement order.
Bitcoin Depot Operating LLC is a Georgia-based company that owns and operates cryptocurrency kiosks nationally. The company, formerly known as LUX Vending LLC, has held a Connecticut money transmission license since July 2022.
The order suspends Bitcoin Depot’s license on a temporary basis, pending proceedings to permanently revoke it. The order also requires the company to make restitution to consumers harmed by scams and excess fees, and orders disgorgement of improperly collected revenue. The company has until March 23 to request a hearing.
The Department of Banking documented seven Connecticut consumers who lost money to scams while using Bitcoin Depot kiosks, with individual losses ranging from $2,000 to $28,800. In several cases, scammers posing as tech support agents, Apple customer service representatives or law enforcement instructed victims to deposit cash into the kiosks and send the resulting cryptocurrency directly to the scammers’ digital wallets.
The department also found that Bitcoin Depot charged fees exceeding Connecticut’s 15% statutory cap on 1,015 transactions, collecting $150,426 in excess fees between October 2024 and July 2025. One consumer who lost $2,000 to a scam was charged $593 in fees on that transaction alone — nearly 30% of the transaction amount.
The department further alleged that Bitcoin Depot told fraud victims there was “no way to receive a refund,” which regulators said was false. Connecticut law requires kiosk operators to provide full refunds to new customers who report fraudulent transactions within 72 hours and to file a police report. The department said the company instead charged administrative fees of 5% to 10% when it did process refunds, and provided only a partial refund of $267 to a consumer who was entitled to the full $2,000.
Among the other violations alleged: Bitcoin Depot failed to maintain the $1 million minimum tangible net worth required of Connecticut money transmission licensees in 2022 and 2023, and the department said it could not verify compliance for 2024 and 2025.
The company also failed to collect government-issued identification for numerous customers, allowed transaction limits to be exceeded, and omitted required disclosures and warnings from customer receipts and agreements, the order states.
The company also failed to make required phone calls to new customers over age 60 before their first transaction — a Connecticut protection aimed at preventing elder financial abuse through cryptocurrency scams.
The maximum civil penalty under Connecticut law is $100,000 per violation.
