B itcoin ATMs, the now-ubiquitous machines in gas stations and smoke shops that convert physical cash to cryptocurrency, are in trouble.
Over the past few months, the Canadian government announced a proposal to ban the scam-prone machines while Tennessee, Minnesota and Indiana passed legislation to outlaw them. Just last week, the world’s largest operator of these ATMs, Bitcoin Depot, filed for bankruptcy , citing litigation and government action. Experts and authorities have for years warned about the machines’ heavy use by criminals, who rely on them as a convenient means to collect funds from scam victims.
But as the crackdown on crypto ATMs widens, one critical aspect of the scam ecosystem has escaped scrutiny: the crypto giants that have enabled these ATM operations through massive transfers of bitcoin. Because these machines often take in cash and convert that cash to bitcoin, the crypto necessary to make such conversions are essential to the ATM firms.
At ICIJ’s request, a group of cryptocurrency investigators traced billions of dollars in bitcoin transfers from brand-name crypto firms directly to the coffers of ATM companies, even as authorities issued increasingly dire warnings about potential criminal activity. ICIJ found that after attorneys general in Massachusetts, Iowa and Washington, D.C., alleged that top ATM operators were dealing heavily in scam transactions, major crypto companies continued selling them big sums of bitcoin.
This included U.S.-based exchange Kraken, which has transferred at least $1.1 billion worth of bitcoin to crypto ATM operators in recent years. ICIJ found that Kraken sent the ATM operator Athena Bitcoin at least $17 million worth of cryptocurrency after District of Columbia authorities singled out its machines last September.
“Athena’s bitcoin machines have become a tool for criminals intent on exploiting elderly and vulnerable District residents,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a statement at the time. “Athena knows that its machines are being used primarily by scammers yet chooses to look the other way.”
Athena Bitcoin has rejected these allegations. In response to questions from ICIJ, Kraken said that it takes its regulatory obligations seriously and maintains robust compliance controls. In a statement, a spokesperson said its “business relationships are subject to rigorous onboarding, ongoing due diligence, and enhanced monitoring standards.”
Between May 2020 and March 2025, the crypto firm Gemini provided more than half a billion dollars in bitcoin to Bitcoin Depot. Cumberland DRW, a crypto trading firm founded by billionaire Don Wilson, has also been a major supplier of bitcoin to crypto ATM firms, including Bitcoin Depot and CoinFlip, according to blockchain researchers.
Cumberland and Gemini did not respond to requests for comment.
A police lieutenant disconnects a Bitcoin Depot ATM inside a convenience store in Haverhill, Mass., on April 6, 2026.
In some cases, big crypto players provided bitcoin to ATM operators that were later criminally charged, ICIJ found. For instance, the crypto exchange Bitstamp sent at least $7 million to a firm called Crypto Dispensers between 2018 and 2024 — which fell within a timeframe when the firm used its ATM network for money laundering, according to a federal indictment.
Bitstamp did not respond to requests for comment. Firas Isa, the founder of Crypto Dispensers, who is also under indictment for money laundering, told ICIJ in an interview that Bitstamp performed rigorous audits on his firm. Isa denies the allegations in the indictment, which states that his firm received large amounts of money derived from crimes including from scam victims.
At ICIJ’s request, a half-dozen experts who specialize in analyzing bitcoin transaction records on the public ledger known as the blockchain helped examine and confirm details of these transactions. These experts included Fred Buret, of the crypto investigations firm Recoveris, and Joshua Cooper-Duckett of the firm Cryptoforensic Investigators.
Jason Ghetian, a former FBI agent specializing in crypto scams, told ICIJ that the providers of large amounts of bitcoin to crypto ATMs should have been wary of those business relationships, given the machines’ reputation for being heavily used by criminals. “These exchanges could shut these ATMs down if they don’t provide liquidity for them,” Ghetian said.
The companies have not, however, broken the law by providing the ATMs with bitcoin liquidity. In recent years, the crypto industry’s biggest players have vigorously sought to be accepted as part of the mainstream financial system, with Kraken just this year being the first to receive approval for a so-called master account with the Federal Reserve. Even amid this push for broader recognition, the most prominent crypto firms remain deeply entwined with a part of the industry that lawmakers around the world are scrambling to protect consumers from.
‘How can people be s…
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