Aussie Minister Outlines New ‘Powers’ to Target Crypto ATMs Amid Surging Crypto Crimes

Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke unveiled new “powers” for AUSTRAC to curb the use of crypto ￰0￱ the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, he explained that Bitcoin ATMs are being used by organized crime to launder ￰1￱ minister pointed out that Australia’s financial crimes watchdog, AUSTRAC, found 85% of funds from top crypto ATM users were involved in ￰2￱ Burke said that though not all ATMs are at risk, there are significant problems in areas that are hard to trace. “I want AUSTRAC to have the power to restrict, or if it decides, to prohibit high-risk ￰3￱ in no doubt, crypto ATMs are a high-risk product,” he ￰4￱ Rise in Crypto ATMs Australia has experienced a drastic surge in Bitcoin ATM installations over the past few ￰5￱ just 73 machines in 2022, the number has grown 16-fold, reaching over 1,200 by August 2024.