Haverhill, a city in Massachusetts, United States, is moving forward with a plan to completely ban cryptocurrency ATMs.
Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett has proposed an ordinance to the City Council that would add a new chapter to the Massachusetts city’s legal code.
The city of Massachusetts will ban crypto ATMs
The regulation, which was proposed on March 17, has already received eleven votes in favor, showing broad agreement on the issue.
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 led to older and gullible technology users losing money to scams and fraud. Additionally, the lack of “federal and state consumer protections and regulatory oversight” prompted the mayor to propose this law.
By law, all existing machines in the city must be removed and completely disabled within 60 days. Failure to do so will result in violators being fined $300 per day per machine.
With approximately 415 crypto ATMs in and around Haverhill, this move is crucial to protecting residents from fraudsters, according to CoinATMRadar.
Why is Bitcoin Depot the most targeted?
Needless to say: Bitcoin [BTC] Depot leads the Crypto ATM space as the largest operator. This makes the ATM most exposed to crypto fraud due to its high transaction volume and usage.
In fact, according to the quarterly report, Bitcoin Depot has seen a series of revenue losses since the end of the third quarter of 2025.
Amid these troubling figures, Scott Buchanan stepped down as CEO. Following this, Alex Holmes, a former CEO of MoneyGram, was appointed the new CEO of Bitcoin Depot.
Furthermore, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell sued Bitcoin Depot in February 2026. She alleged that scammers were using the company’s ATM to defraud residents.
But despite such developments, Bitcoin Depot’s stock rose 7.39% to $2.18 in the last trading session. However, the biggest concern remains as the stock has seen a decline of over 91% over the past six months.
Haverhill – Not the only boat in the sea of crypto scams
As this crypto ATM scam continues, New Hampshire has passed bipartisan legislation to protect victims. Under the law, victims of cryptocurrency ATM scams will receive compensation provided they report the fraud within 14 days.
This coincided with a large-scale incident that occurred in October 2025. According to 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 intervened. They imposed a complete ban on crypto ATMs – a similar approach was taken by Waltham and Gloucester.
Final summary
- Crypto ATMs, once seen as a tool to introduce crypto to everyday use, now act as a source of scams and fraud.
- Haverhill isn’t alone in taking this step: South Hadley, New Hampshire, Waltham, Gloucester and many more cities are following through.