Haverhill’s city council is moving forward with a proposal, introduced March 17 by Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, that would ban cryptocurrency ATMs and kiosks within city limits. At the March 17 meeting the council voted unanimously, 11-0, to approve the draft ordinance and advance it for further consideration; if enacted it would amend the city code to prohibit these machines.
The draft ordinance points to risks it says the kiosks pose to residents, including financial fraud, money laundering and a lack of consumer recourse, and cites gaps in state and federal oversight as grounds for local action. Under the proposed rule, operators would have 60 days to remove any crypto ATMs from Haverhill or face fines of $300 per day.
Haverhill’s move follows similar actions by other U.S. jurisdictions responding to reported scams and illicit activity tied to crypto kiosks. In Minnesota, a lawmaker in February introduced legislation that could ban such machines, building on a 2024 law that already placed restrictions on ATM operators. CoinATMRadar data and information from operator Bitcoin Depot suggest there may be eight or more crypto machines in the Haverhill area. Cointelegraph contacted the mayor’s office for comment but had not received a reply at time of publication.
One of the largest U.S. crypto ATM operators, Bitcoin Depot, has recently confronted growing regulatory and legal pressure. Its share price has fallen more than 90% since 2025 and was trading around $2.06 on the Nasdaq as of Tuesday. In March, Connecticut regulators issued a temporary cease-and-desist order that effectively suspended Bitcoin Depot’s money transmission license. State authorities in Iowa and Massachusetts have also filed lawsuits alleging the company enabled crypto scams. Cointelegraph sought comment from Bitcoin Depot about the Haverhill proposal but had not heard back.
Last week Bitcoin Depot announced a leadership change: Scott Buchanan resigned as CEO after under three months in the role, and the company named board member and former MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes as its new CEO and chair.