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<\/p>\nA company specialising in operating ATMs that exchange cryptocurrency for cash has had its network temporarily shut down over concerns it hasn\u2019t complied with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism funding laws.<\/p>\n
Cryptolink operated 96 cryptocurrency ATMs across Australia, specifically designed to help people withdraw money earned from owning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cryptocurrency ATMs allow people to exchange Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency for cash.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n
However, AUSTRAC, Australia\u2019s financial intelligence agency, has forced the company to stop operating its crypto ATMs (CATM) for three months, starting on Monday.<\/p>\n
AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas said the suspension came after the company could not guarantee it was complying with laws to ensure its machines aren\u2019t used for money laundering.<\/p>\n
\u201cAUSTRAC has ongoing concerns about the company\u2019s ability to manage high-risk transactions through its CATMs,\u201d Thomas said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Cryptolink met the conditions stipulated in its enforceable undertaking, it subsequently failed to meet basic reporting obligations, particularly for threshold transaction reports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said Cryptolink did not respond to an AUSTRAC request for information that would have provided clarity on whether the company was not breaching Australian laws through its CATMs.<\/p>\n
This meant, according to Thomas, the regulator had no choice but to take action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company failed to submit these required reports or respond to AUSTRAC\u2019s request for information, thus we\u2019ve deemed it too high risk to continue operating at present,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCryptolink was given the opportunity to comply but could not meet its obligations despite the enforceable undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a result, Cryptolink has temporarily lost its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration, which allows it to operate ATMs.<\/p>\n
The company has also been issued with a $56,340 fine in October 2025 \u2013 which it paid \u2013 at the same time AUSTRAC accepted an enforceable undertaking.<\/p>\n
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Millions of Australians own at least some cryptocurrency.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n
As part of that agreement, Cryptolink commissioned independent reviews, enhanced its transaction monitoring systems, and improved risk assessments, according to a statement from the company released at the time.<\/p>\n
This measure came after the cryptocurrency taskforce identified alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws, including late reporting of threshold transactions, a movement of $10,000 or more in one transaction.<\/p>\n
It also found alleged weaknesses in Cryptolink\u2019s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance risk assessments.<\/p>\n
Cryptolink accepted there had been \u201clapses\u201d which led to delayed threshold transaction reports, but insisted it does not condone or support the use of its CATMs for illicit purposes.<\/p>\n
It said it had several measures to protect customers from potential scams, including warnings before transactions, education, and targeted transaction monitoring, meant to crack down on suspicious behaviour or transactions.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur customers are central to everything we do,\u201d a Cryptolink spokesperson said in a statement in October last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we regret the shortcomings that led to this outcome, we are committed to turning this into an opportunity to build a more robust, resilient and trusted platform.\u201d <\/p>\n
AUSTRAC said it would continue to closely monitor the trade and use of cryptocurrency in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to keep a close watch on the cryptocurrency sector, particularly businesses operating crypto ATMs, and will take action where we identify serious risks or non-compliance,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Cryptolink has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A company specialising in operating ATMs that exchange cryptocurrency for cash has had its network temporarily shut down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-850390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}