Australia has introduced new rules to organize crypto ATMs to protect citizens from technology -related financial risks. The Australian Transaction Reports and Inline Center (SORAC) has now implemented the deposit and return limit of 5,000 (about 2. 2.8 lakh) on Crypto ATM transactions. The Australian regulator believes that this strategy can prevent crypto scams and fraud, especially those who target elderly people in the country.
Referring to the details submitted by the nine crypto ATM service providers, the government -backed financial intelligence agency said that the use of Crypto ATM is dominated by over 50 years of age, which is about 72 % of the total transaction cost. The agency highlighted that elderly people are buying crypto currencies through cash, with many scams and fraud schemes.
“Surprisingly, a group of 60 to 70 was identified as one of the most usable users of Crypto ATM in Australia,” said Brendon Thomas, Austral’s CEO. “In light of the risks and losses, we believe that it is important to meet the sector to meet the minimum standards and to reduce the criminal abuse of crypto ATMs.”
Between 2019 and 2024, Australian witnessed a significant increase in crypto ATM installations, which increased from just 23 in 2019 to more than 1,200 in 2024. At present, 1,800 active machines have been estimated in Australia. Statistics also show that these crypto ATMs process about 150 150,000 transactions annually, which contains funds around AUD 275 million (about Rs 1,529 crore).
The agency revealed, “The majority of these transactions – about 9999 percent – are cash reserves to purchase crypto currencies, mostly bitcoin, teachers and Ethereum.”
Despite the clear increase in the use of crypto ATMs, Astrick has claimed to have witnessed “disturbing” and “disturbing” trends in compliance with firms behind these crypto ATMs. The Crypto Task Force inside the Austrians recently refused to renew the registration of a crypto ATM operator called the Heroes Empire after identifying the risk of exploitation of the company.
The agency is now taking active steps to raise awareness around the risks associated with the use of crypto ATMs within Australia. To do this, educational content is also being kept with ATMs that will help readers understand the dangers involved, identify fake schemes and understand any suspicious activity.
Thomas added, “Crypto can be a high risk investment. I will warn anyone to use one of these machine to send someone to fund and think twice, because once your money is lost, it is almost impossible for the authorities to recover it.”
In March, the Australian Treasury Department proposed a legislative framework to monitor crypto exchange, custody services, and business and operations of brokerage firms. Further growth is expected on these rules when the proposed rules once received the opinion of the Crypto Sector’s stakeholders.
As far as the crypto ATM is concerned, these machines have been repeatedly flagged because high risk means exploiting AS AS easily in illegal transactions. Last year, for example, the blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said that the rate of illegal activities contained in the crypto ATM was doubled with a broader crypto ecosystem. The TRM Labs had currently released a report claiming that illegal transactions of $ 160 million (about Rs 1,342 crore) were processed through Crypto ATM between 2019 and 2024.
Financial authorities in the UK had earlier cracked down the Crypto ATM service providers in 2023, to install machines without any legal requirements.
(This story has not been edited by the NDTV staff and has been made auto from the Syndicate Fed.)
