Canada proposes a full ban on crypto ATMs: the highest share of its population in the world, accused of being a conduit for scams

The Liberal government of Canada has proposed a plan to ban crypto ATMs across the entire country, arguing that these machines have been heavily used by scam groups and money launderers. The proposal is part of the April 28 “Spring Economic Update” (spring economic update report); the event was reported by CoinDesk on April 29.

Reasons for the ban: FINTRAC calls crypto ATMs a “fraud conduit”

The Canadian government says the main rationale behind the ban comes from its financial intelligence agency FINTRAC: as early as 2023, FINTRAC’s internal analysis indicated that crypto ATMs are “most likely to remain the primary channel through which fraud groups collect payments from victims and then launder the funds.” Three years later, the 2026 Spring Economic Update formally incorporates this internal analysis into its policy intent. Victims are often seniors—scammers instruct them over the phone and via text messages to deposit large sums of cash at a physical crypto ATM, which then immediately converts it into tokens such as Bitcoin and sends the funds to the scammer’s wallet on-chain. Once the cash has been converted, it is virtually impossible to recover the funds on the blockchain.

The U.S. market can serve as a comparison reference: according to recent statistics, in 2025 Americans lost more than $333 million to crypto ATM scams. The Canadian government has not yet disclosed the country’s specific loss amounts or number of cases, but its policy discussion about the ban clearly draws on the experiences of its neighbor.

Current situation in Canada: about 4,000 ATMs, the most per capita globally, no dedicated oversight

Canada currently has roughly 4,000 crypto ATMs, the country with the highest number per capita in the world. Despite having a high infrastructure density, Canada previously had no dedicated regulatory framework specifically for crypto ATMs—machine operators only needed to meet the general anti-money-laundering registration requirements for financial service providers, with no additional requirements for identification, transaction limits, or routine audit obligations. This regulatory vacuum is a key reason the government chose to handle the issue this time with a “direct ban” rather than “tiered regulation.”

The policy design leaves an exit: Canadians will still be able to buy tokens through regulated “brick-and-mortar” crypto transaction services. In other words, in the future, purchase channels will be consolidated into compliant providers with human KYC, staff involvement, and trackable normal business addresses—rather than self-service machines at street corners. Regarding the specific implementation timeline, the length of any transition period, and how existing ATM operators will be dealt with (dismantling? conversion? compensation?), the Spring Economic Update document does not explain.

If Canada implements a nationwide ban, it would be the first G7 country to fully eliminate crypto ATMs. The signal to the global crypto industry may be more than just the loss of a single market—it is that the long-term viability of the “ATM format” product line in regulated markets is being challenged. After all, the core of the crypto ATM business model is built on three characteristics—“fast, anonymous, and instant cash-to-crypto conversion”—which are fundamentally in conflict with anti-money-laundering regulations.

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