Crypto▼ Bearish
Australia forces 96 Cryptolink crypto ATMs offline in AML crackdown
AUSTRAC suspended Cryptolink's registration, taking 96 crypto ATMs offline for three months after the operator failed to report large cash transactions. The move adds to a global crackdown on cash-to-crypto kiosks linked to fraud.
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Australia’s anti-money laundering authority suspended the registration of Cryptolink Pty Ltd, shutting down 96 cryptocurrency ATMs for three months starting August 9, 2026. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said the company failed to submit required threshold transaction reports and did not respond to a request for information, even after meeting the terms of an October 2025 enforceable undertaking that included a A$56,340 penalty for late reporting of large cash transactions and weak anti-money laundering risk assessments.
The suspension is the latest in a global push against cash-to-crypto kiosks, which regulators increasingly link to fraud and money laundering. In the United States, Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota have enacted bans on crypto ATM use by consumers. Canada’s 2026 Spring Economic Update proposes a ban on the machines, citing their role in scams and illicit fund flows. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority shut down 26 illegal Bitcoin ATMs in 2023, cutting the active count by nearly 90%, TRM Labs data showed. In 2025, the FCA secured the first criminal conviction of a crypto ATM operator, sentencing Olumide Osunkoya to four years in prison. Germany’s BaFin confiscated machines and €250,000 in cash in a 35-location operation in August 2024, arguing the ATMs operated without required banking licenses.
Crypto ATMs sit at a specific intersection of risk: they convert cash into cryptocurrency that can be transferred instantly across borders. TRM Labs reported that cash-to-crypto services show an illicit transaction rate of 1.2%, almost double the 0.63% rate across the wider crypto ecosystem. The firm estimated that roughly $160 million in illicit funds has moved through cash-to-crypto channels since 2019, including more than $30 million sent to known scam accounts in 2023.
Consumer losses are climbing fast. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said cryptocurrency ATM scam losses rose 1,000% from 2020 to reach $388 million in 2025, up 58% from 2024. People over 60 are more than three times as likely to lose money through a crypto ATM scam, with average losses around $10,000, according to the FTC. AUSTRAC’s own data showed that people aged 50 to 70 account for roughly 72% of the total value of crypto ATM transactions. An analysis of 90 frequent users found that 85% were either scam victims or money mules, the regulator said.