Wyoming Moves to Regulate Crypto Kiosks

Particularly with the increasing fraud rates and worsening virtual money scams, Wyoming proposes a bill to control crypto kiosks.

Wyoming lawmakers are drafting a new bill to increase regulation of crypto kiosks because the number of frauds associated with the virtual money is actually growing statewide. Such ATM-like crypto and virtual money kiosks have been widespread victims of scammers.

Tom Lacock of AARP Wyoming said that scammers usually request the victims to invest in the following machines, after which the money is immediately converted into crypto and then transferred to untraceable online wallets. In Wyoming alone there are approximately 50 of such kiosks and within 16 months Cheyenne police received 40 complaints, costing the police almost half a million dollars.

The suggested bill would enable the state banking commissioner to come up with stricter guidelines on crypto and virtual money kiosks. Wyoming seeks to be the first of its 16 other U.S. state siblings that have already implemented regulations of such machines. Iowa conducted audits on older kiosk transactions, and almost 90% of kiosk transactions were associated with fraud or scams.

Lacock advised vigilance among the residents and warned that where any attempt has been made to request offenders to pay fines or debts with a crypto kiosk, the same is nearly certainly a scam. Lawmakers pointed out that the intention is not to prevent the use of virtual money but rather to make the transactions safer and more knowledgeable for citizens.

Subsequently, further discussions regarding the proposed regulations will take place at the next meeting on December 15 in Cheyenne.