A major cryptocurrency ATM operator will pay $1.9 million to Maine residents who were defrauded by scammers using the company’s kiosks, according to a consent agreement with the state.

The agreement, between Bitcoin Depot and the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, follows a two-year investigation that included the Office of the Maine Attorney General. It was signed in December and announced Monday.

Bitcoin Depot is based in Atlanta and operates over 25,000 kiosks in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mexico and Hong Kong, according to its website. The company operated about 80 unlicensed kiosks in Maine — until the state passed emergency legislation in June to regulate virtual currency ATMs.

Bitcoin Depot’s website no longer lists kiosks in Maine. “They’ve been gone since last summer,” said Linda Conti, bureau superintendent.

Most of the company’s machines were in York, Cumberland, Kennebec and Penobscot counties, Conti said.

It’s unclear how many Mainers have been scammed through Bitcoin Depot kiosks, exactly where they were located or how much money each victim might receive.

“We will not know how much each refund will be until we have received and reviewed all of the claims,” according to information posted on the bureau’s website.

Claims must be filed on or before April 1, 2026, and may be submitted online. The bureau will begin issuing refunds in May.

INVESTIGATIONS UNDERWAY

The bureau said the scams involved transactions made at Bitcoin Depot kiosks, where people purchased cryptocurrency and deposited it into “unhosted wallets” provided by third-party fraudsters.

An unhosted wallet is a type of digital wallet that is hosted and controlled by a user, rather than by a financial institution, money transmitter, exchange or other virtual asset service provider.

Although Bitcoin Depot no longer has kiosks in Maine,nearly 100 other cryptocurrency ATMs are still operating across the state, Conti said, including CoinFlip, CoinStar and Coinme machines.

In March 2023, bureau investigators found that Bitcoin Depot kiosks in Maine appeared to provide money transmission functions and invited the company to apply for a money transmitter license, according to the consent agreement.

The company applied for a license that month, but the application wasn’t deemed complete until February 2025 and was denied in April 2025. Bitcoin Depot appealed the decision in May.

In July 2025, the bureau provided Bitcoin Depot with a list of consumer transactions at its kiosks in which Maine consumers may have suffered financial loss and harm as a result of third-party fraudsters.

As part of the consent agreement, Bitcoin Depot must send a $1.9 million check to Maine’s attorney general by Feb. 2 and has agreed to fully comply with Maine’s consumer protection laws as a now-licensed money transmitter.

Bitcoin Depot is still licensed to transmit funds in Maine through online transactions, Conti said.

The bureau continues to investigate other cryptocurrency kiosk operators, she said. “The kiosks are where the trouble happens,” Conti said.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Gov. Janet Mills praised the bureau for securing an agreement with Bitcoin Depot “that will put money back into the pockets of Maine people who were defrauded by predatory third-party scammers.”

Mills urged all Mainers “to talk with their loved ones about the threats of scammers and precautions to take to avoid these cruel and often sophisticated schemes.” 

Maine has recently adopted laws that protect consumers from third-party scammers, including the Maine Money Transmission Modernization Act, which the governor signed in 2024.

In June 2025, Mills also signed emergency legislation that limits daily transmission amounts from virtual currency kiosks, caps fees and exchange rates, and provides redress for consumers.

“Maine’s new consumer protection laws have allowed us to reach this consent agreement,” Conti said. “Whenever you have new technologies, you’re going to have people who are vulnerable and need to be protected.”

The laws include an unhosted wallet provision, which requires money transmitters to employ new technologies to ensure that Maine consumers own and control their virtual wallets.

To be eligible for a portion of the $1.9 million, claimants must have been a Maine resident between 2022 and 2025; used a Bitcoin Depot kiosk in Maine during that period to convert cash to cryptocurrecy; and deposited the cryptocurrency into an unhosted wallet provided by a scammer or third-party fraudster.

The full consent agreement and FAQs for consumers are available on the bureau’s website. For more information call 800-332-8529 or 207-624-8527.