Why crypto ATMs have been focused by New Zealand regulators
On July 17, 2025, New Zealand’s authorities made a defining transfer in its ongoing battle towards monetary crime: It introduced a nationwide ban on cryptocurrency ATMs.
The choice, spearheaded by Affiliate Justice Minister Nicole McKee, is a part of a sweeping reform of the nation’s Anti-Cash Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
Crypto ATMs, kiosks that enable customers to transform money into digital property like Bitcoin (BTC), have lengthy existed in a regulatory grey space. In accordance with New Zealand’s Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Severe and Organised Crime, the nation had greater than 220 such machines in operation by April 2025. Usually situated in comfort shops, petrol stations, vape outlets and laundromats, these ATMs supplied easy accessibility to cryptocurrency, usually with minimal id verification.
That comfort, nonetheless, got here at a price.
In saying the ban, McKee pointed to clear and rising proof that the machines had turn out to be a device for organized legal exercise.
“These are a sound type of cash laundering,” she said in an interview with 1News. “We caught a man abroad who used crypto to purchase meth to ship right here, and it was over 100 kilograms of it.” One case cited concerned 107 million New Zealand {dollars} ($64 million) allegedly laundered by means of such channels.
The flexibility to transform bodily money into digital foreign money and ship it abroad inside minutes, with out significant oversight, made these kiosks ultimate for illicit monetary flows, together with drug trafficking, scams and weapons purchases.
Do you know? Together with crypto ATM ban, Minister Nicole McKee enforced a NZ$5,000 cap on worldwide money transfers as a part of a broader anti–cash laundering technique.
CoinFlip’s response to New Zealand crypto ATM ban
CoinFlip, New Zealand’s largest crypto ATM supplier, with round 120 machines, expressed dismay on the announcement, calling it “a step backward for the digital financial system.”
The corporate argued {that a} extra nuanced, regulatory-based method might have achieved the federal government’s targets with out stifling innovation.
“We imagine the Authorities can obtain their targets whereas additionally encouraging innovation by implementing sensible, efficient regulation that targets dangerous actors,” CoinFlip stated in a public assertion.
They proposed options comparable to pockets pinning, photographic information and pre-transaction danger monitoring to mitigate legal use whereas preserving legit entry. This rigidity between danger mitigation and digital innovation is on the coronary heart of world debates over cryptocurrency coverage.
Is Bitcoin authorized in New Zealand?
Sure, Bitcoin is authorized in New Zealand. People can purchase, promote and maintain cryptocurrencies freely, however they don’t seem to be thought-about authorized tender.
As an alternative, digital property like Bitcoin are labeled as property beneath New Zealand regulation, making them taxable. Revenue derived from crypto buying and selling or mining is topic to revenue tax, and companies working within the sector should register and adjust to Anti-Cash Laundering and monetary conduct laws.
The federal government’s method has been cautious however progressive: Reasonably than banning digital property, it integrates them into current authorized frameworks. Whereas client protections stay restricted, customers are inspired to take care of registered suppliers for added recourse.
This authorized readability permits innovation to flourish, but it surely comes with duty. As New Zealand strikes to ban crypto ATMs, the broader message is evident: Cryptocurrency is welcome, however legal misuse shouldn’t be. Bitcoin could also be authorized, however the atmosphere round it’s turning into extra tightly managed.
Do you know? A retired Australian police officer misplaced over 40 million Thai baht ($1.1 million) in a crypto rip-off after being lured right into a faux funding by a German nationwide in Thailand.
The broader AML/CFT reforms in New Zealand
The crypto ATM ban is only one aspect of a bigger AML/CFT reform package deal launched by McKee on July 9, 2025.
Different key measures embrace:
- A NZ$5,000 cap on worldwide money transfers, aimed toward disrupting the circulate of legal funds offshore.
- Enhanced knowledge sharing powers for the Monetary Intelligence Unit, permitting it to request real-time data from monetary establishments about people beneath investigation.
- Streamlined compliance obligations for low-risk companies, supposed to ease regulatory burdens with out compromising enforcement energy.
“Since 2019, the worldwide monetary and regulatory panorama has shifted considerably,” McKee famous. “We want a wiser, extra agile AML/CFT system, one which targets criminals’ skill to launder cash, whereas enabling New Zealand companies to function effectively and competitively.”
This twin mandate, agility in enforcement and equity in compliance, underscores the federal government’s effort to guard the monetary system with out stifling legit enterprise.
How does New Zealand evaluate internationally?
New Zealand joins a worldwide wave of crypto ATM crackdowns, choosing a full ban whereas friends like Australia pursue tighter regulation as a substitute.
New Zealand’s ban locations it amongst a rising record of nations adopting powerful stances on crypto ATMs.
- United Kingdom (2022): The Monetary Conduct Authority (FCA) successfully banned crypto ATMs by refusing to license any such providers beneath the UK’s Cash Laundering Rules. The few kiosks that operated have been thought-about unlawful and topic to enforcement motion.
- Singapore (2022): The Financial Authority of Singapore positioned a moratorium on crypto ATMs as a part of a broader crackdown on unregulated digital property, citing public danger and market integrity.
- China (2017): A sweeping ban on practically all cryptocurrency transactions, together with ATM operations, was enforced as a part of nationwide monetary safety measures.
In distinction, Australia, New Zealand’s closest regulatory peer, opted for a extra incremental method. In June 2025, the Australian Transaction Stories and Evaluation Centre (AUSTRAC) launched new compliance guidelines for crypto ATM operators.
These included a money deposit and withdrawal cap of 5,000 Australian {dollars} ($3,260), enhanced KYC checks and necessary rip-off alerts. Reasonably than banning the machines, Australian regulators centered on making them safer and extra clear.
New Zealand, nonetheless, selected a cleaner, extra definitive route.
