BISMARCK — The North Dakota House passed a bill to regulate cryptocurrency kiosks on Monday in an attempt to curb associated fraud.
House Bill 1447 advanced with a 12-0 recommendation from the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee with two legislators absent/not voting and passed the House 87-3, with four legislators absent/not voting.
After being amended in committee, the bill would regulate North Dakota virtual currency kiosks, also known as cryptocurrency kiosks or crypto ATMs. Specifically, it would license cryptocurrency kiosk operators in North Dakota, cap the amount of money someone is able to put into the kiosk daily at $2,000 for the first five transactions within a 30-day period of their first transaction, require cryptocurrency kiosk operators to use blockchain analytics software to assist in the detection and prevention of suspicious activity, and require cryptocurrency kiosk operators to clearly post warnings about the danger of scams.
More than $6 million was stolen through cryptocurrency fraud in North Dakota in 2023 and the FBI received over 5,500 complaints involving crypto kiosks nationally in 2023, according to AARP.
Supporters say scammers are directing people to withdraw money from their bank accounts and insert the cash into the crypto ATMs, where it is deposited directly into the electronic wallets of the scammers. They hope the measures in this bill will help prevent this type of fraud.
Some lawmakers questioned the necessity of caps on daily transactions and the cap on fees because it unnecessarily burdens a growing industry. They said that there were legitimate reasons for someone to use the kiosks or there would not be successful, publicly traded companies based on them.
The bill has moved to the Senate, which will vote to determine if the bill makes it to the governor’s desk.
