Security
Photo: Adobe Stock
July 15, 2025
Following a spree of bitcoin ATM related scams, the city council for Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan’s is considering an ordinance to put limits on the machines. The ordinance would limit transactions to $1,000 per day and up to $5,000 in the first 14 days for new customers, according to a report by Detroit Free Press.
Council members Lev Wood and Sierra Donaven called for the ordinance following a report of a senior citizen depositing $20,000 into a bitcoin ATM at the behest of a scammer.
Once the victim deposits the money, it is often very difficult to recover. Although bitcoin ATM operators do put warnings on the machines, the huge boost in scams has led to other places calling for regulations or outright banning them.
For example, New Zealand has banned cryptocurrency ATMs, alongside Spokane, Washington.
