BTM COMPLIANCE BLOG
California’s Governor signs executive order that could propel growth of the crypto/blockchain industry in the state
Gavin Newsom, California’s Governor, has signed an executive order to facilitate California agencies and federal government officials to create regulations for cryptocurrency. This is huge news for businesses and tech investors in California who have been waiting for...
Bitcoin ATMs and Banking as a Money Services Business: Part 1
Starting a Money Services Business (MSB) can be an intimidating process. There are a number of things an owner must do to get their MSB operational, and also stay compliant with the federal and state regulations. On top of that, many banks will not work with an MSB,...
New York Bitcoin ATM Operator Charged for Illegally operating his Business
Last week Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. announced that Robert Taylor, a Bitcoin ATM operator of over 40 machines in New York, has been indicted for running his operation illegally and marketing it to criminals. It was disclosed that between 2017 and...
New Cryptocurrency Scam Reporting Tool Available
In the FBI’s 2021 Internet Crime Report, there were more than 1,250 reports of scams stemming from Crypto ATMs accounting for nearly $30 million lost. This is a small percentage of the total cryptocurrency scams that took place in 2021. In response to this, The...
Bitcoin ATM Compliance – What you need to know
60% of the worlds Bitcoin ATMs are operated in the United States. However, if you’re looking to operate a Bitcoin ATM business there is a lot more to it than just buying the machine and plugging it in. As a Bitcoin ATM operator, your business has to stay compliant...
New Florida Legislation to Benefit Bitcoin ATM Operators
In recent months, Florida legislators have voted to clarify the state’s position on cryptocurrency sales. This new legislation will allow crypto assets to be bought and sold between two parties in Florida without the fear of regulation repercussions. With this vote,...
Navigating Bitcoin ATM Compliance
Have you been thinking about the possibility of starting a Bitcoin ATM operation? Are you hesitant because you’re unsure where to start or what to do with Bitcoin ATM compliance? If this sounds familiar, rest assured that you are not alone. Many new operators are learning that there is more to just picking out a Bitcoin ATM.
Annual Independent Review: Your BTM Company’s Crucial Safeguard
Federal regulators can enforce drastic civil, administrative, and criminal penalties against an entity that violates AML initiatives or the Bank Secrecy Act. Importantly for BTM companies, the applicable regulations frequently change and often omit or leave open to interpretation how BTM companies fit into the regulatory scheme. Consequently, an independent review allows companies to properly address non-compliance, mitigate ongoing violations, and protect itself against fines and penalties.
Title 31 Examination – What to Expect as a Money Services Business
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is stepping up enforcement of Money Services Businesses (MSBs) and the penalties for non-compliance are hefty. In a published IRS report, it was found that in fiscal year 2016, there were 1,716 examinations of MSB’s with a total potential tax revenue of $3 billion. Fast forward to the present, and the IRS appears to be conducting more Title 31 exams in 2021 than previous years. If you operate as an MSB or provide compliance advice to companies operating as MSBs, this blog post will be informative on what to expect during a Title 31 audit by the IRS.
FinCEN’s proposed rule to make Bitcoin a Monetary Instrument
FinCEN issued a notice of proposed rule making — they gave a whole 15 days for comments — and propose to make Bitcoin and other digital currencies fall under the definition of monetary instrument. This means extra reporting for Banks and Money Service Businesses (MSBs). If the rule goes through, MSBs will need to keep a monetary instrument log, recording any transactions valued between $3,000 — $10,000.