Haverhill, a city in Massachusetts, United States, is moving ahead with a plan to ban cryptocurrency ATMs entirely.
Melinda E. Barrett, the mayor of Haverhill, has proposed an ordinance to the City Council adding a new chapter to the Massachusetts city’s legal code.
Massachusetts city to ban crypto ATMs
Proposed on the 17th of March, the ordinance has already received 11 votes in favour, showing widespread agreement on the matter.
Indeed, citing the reasons behind this ban, the mayor argued,
Unregulated Cryptocurrency ATMs pose risks to consumers, including financial fraud, money laundering, and lack of recourse for users.
This has resulted in the elderly and gullible tech users losing money to scams and fraud. Additionally, the lack of “federal and state consumer protection and regulatory oversight” has prompted the mayor to propose this law.
As per the law, all existing machines within the city must be removed and completely shut down within 60 days. If not, then a fine of $300 per day per machine will be imposed on the violators.
With about 415 crypto ATMs in and around Haverhill, according to CoinATMRadar, this move is crucial for residents’ protection from fraudsters.
Why is Bitcoin Depot being targeted the most?
Needless to say, Bitcoin [BTC] Depot leads the Crypto ATM space as the biggest operator. This makes the ATM most exposed to crypto scams due to high transaction volume and usage.
In fact, according to its quarterly report, Bitcoin Depot has seen a streak of revenue losses since the end of Q3 in 2025.
Amidst these concerning numbers, Scott Buchanan stepped down as the CEO. Following this, Alex Holmes, a former CEO of MoneyGram, was appointed the new CEO of Bitcoin Depot.
Additionally, in February 2026, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell sued Bitcoin Depot. She alleged that scammers used the company’s ATM to defraud residents.
Yet, despite such developments, Bitcoin Depot’s stock surged by 7.39% in the last trading session to reach $2.18. However, the bigger concern remains as the stock has seen a drop of over 91% in the past 6 months.
Haverhill – Not the only boat in the sea of crypto scams
Now, as these crypto ATM scams continue to operate, New Hampshire has passed bipartisan legislation to protect the victims. According to the law, victims of crypto ATM scams will recive reimbursed, provided they report the fraud within 14 days.
This coincided with a massive incident that took place in October 2025. As reported by the Police, a South Hadley business owner had rented out a crypto ATM for $200 per month.
During this time, a scammer impersonated him and targeted his employees.
This, in turn, resulted in a loss of over $11,000.
Following this incident, South Hadley officials stepped in. They imposed a complete ban on crypto ATMs – a similar approach was made by Waltham and Gloucester.
Final Summary
- Crypto ATMs, once seen as a tool to bring crypto to everyday use, are now acting as a source of scams and fraud.
- Haverhill is not the only one to take this step: South Hadley, New Hampshire, Waltham, Gloucester, and many more cities are going ahead with this.
