The North Dakota Senate has taken a significant step in regulating crypto ATMs, passing House Bill 1447 with a 45-to-1 vote on March 18.

The bill, initially introduced in January, aims to establish strict oversight on crypto ATM operations to curb fraudulent activities and protect users.

If signed into law, it would impose licensing requirements on operators, mandate fraud warnings, and set a daily transaction cap of $2,000 per user.

The legislation, now heading back to the House for approval of recent amendments, resulted from growing concerns over the misuse of crypto ATMs for scams. This issue has plagued both North Dakota and the broader United States.

Strengthening Consumer Protections Amid Rising Crypto ATM Fraud

North Dakota’s initiative to regulate crypto ATMs comes in response to increasing reports of financial scams linked to these machines.

According to Lisa Kruse, the state’s financial institutions commissioner, in the January report, residents filed 103 complaints about crypto ATM scams in 2023, resulting in $6.5 million in losses.

To address these concerns, House Bill 1447 enforces several key regulations. Crypto ATM operators must obtain a money transmitter license, ensuring greater accountability.

Additionally, all kiosks must display fraud warnings to alert users about potential scams, and operators must submit quarterly reports detailing machine locations, transaction data, and company details.

Furthermore, blockchain analytics will be mandated to identify and flag suspicious transactions, helping authorities track fraudulent activity more effectively.

Initially, the bill proposed a $1,000 daily transaction limit, which lawmakers later revised to $2,000 for the first five transactions within 30 days. The Senate has now simplified the limit to $2,000 per day.

The legislation’s next step is for the House to review these adjustments before it reaches Governor Kelly Armstrong for final approval.

A Nationwide Crackdown on Crypto ATM Fraud

North Dakota is not alone in its efforts to regulate crypto ATMs. Similar legislative measures have been introduced in other states.

On March 13, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed the Controllable Electronic Record Fraud Prevention Act, which introduces stringent licensing and reporting requirements for crypto ATM operators.

Likewise, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois has proposed federal legislation targeting crypto ATM scams motivated by real-world cases where victims were deceived into making large deposits under false pretenses.

The rise in fraudulent activities involving crypto ATMs has become a national concern.

The Federal Trade Commission reported that fraud losses at Bitcoin ATMs surged nearly tenfold between 2020 and 2023, reaching $65 million in just the first half of 2024.

Alarmingly, elderly individuals remain the most vulnerable demographic, with consumers aged 60 and older being three times more likely to fall victim to scams.

Despite these concerns, according to Coin ATM Radar, the United States remains the dominant market for crypto ATMs, with 29,819 machines accounting for 78% of the global share. Canada follows at 9.2%, while Australia holds 4.3% of the market.

Regulation vs. Innovation

While North Dakota tightens its grip on crypto ATMs, the state is simultaneously advancing initiatives to integrate cryptocurrency into its financial strategy.

Lawmakers have proposed establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, aligning with a growing trend among U.S. states to diversify state treasuries with digital assets.

This move is similar to proposals in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, with advocates arguing that Bitcoin can serve as a hedge against inflation and economic instability.

The push for Bitcoin reserves gained momentum following former President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to position the U.S. as a global leader in cryptocurrency.

While lawmakers work to protect consumers from fraud, they also recognize the long-term potential of digital assets in shaping the future of finance.

As North Dakota moves forward with its legislative efforts, the outcome of House Bill 1447 and the state’s broader crypto strategy could influence other states to approach digital assets with a balance between regulation and innovation.

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Cardano (ADA) has gone up by 2.7% in the past 24 hours as the crypto market has been recovering ahead of today’s interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve.

Analysts expect that the central bank will not make any changes to the federal funds rate as they fear that Donald Trump’s hostile policies on the trade front could result in higher inflation.

Data from CoinShares emphasized how bad the market’s latest sell-off has been for crypto-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in a report published earlier this week.

The report shows that weekly outflows for BTC and ETH spot ETFs surged to $978 million and $176 million respectively.

Interestingly, investors poured capital on ADA and XRP-linked exchange-traded products (ETP) during this same period. In Cardano’s case, $400,000 flowed to its ETPs last week.

ADA has been resilient to the latest market downturn as the token has experienced losses of 14.3% this year compared to Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH), which have dropped by 32% and 39.2% during this same period.

Cardano Needs to Break Above $0.730 to Keep the Rally Going

Trading volumes for ADA have gone up by 6.1% in the past day as well and currently stand at $707.4 million.

The hourly chart shows that ADA made a lower high on Monday. During the Asian session today, the price is approaching a key resistance at $0.730.

Depending on what happens, either a break above or a rejection of this level, ADA could retrace to yesterday’s low (rejection) or keep surging to $0.7635 per coin during the American session.

Traders should be cautious today as the Federal Reserve meeting typically increases market volatility. Even though the consensus is that no changes will be made to interest rates, the price of digital assets often behaves erratically during FOMC meeting day.

With whales accumulating coins at discounted prices, Best Wallet (BEST) is emerging as the go-to choice for secure and efficient crypto storage.

Best Wallet (BEST) Raises $11M to Launch its Market-Leading Crypto Wallet

Best Wallet (BEST) is a non-custodial crypto wallet that challenges the dominance of existing solutions like MetaMask and Exodus by introducing novel features like Upcoming Tokens – an advanced crypto presale screener.

This wallet offers reduced transaction fees, attractive staking rewards to $BEST holders, and mobile access through its iOS and Android applications.

Best Wallet has raised $11.2 million from investors already to deploy the app. The $BEST token will power the solution’s ecosystem, which will include a decentralized exchange and a debit card in the future.

At its discounted presale price of $0.0244, BEST offers significant upside potential to early buyers as the token could experience significant demand once the solution is officially launched.

To buy $BEST, simply head to the Best Wallet website and connect your wallet (e.g. the Best Wallet App). You can either swap USDT, ETH, or BNB for this token or use a bank card to make your investment.

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