Australia forces 96 Cryptolink crypto ATMs offline in AML crackdown

Australia’s anti-money laundering authority has put a halt to the registration of Cryptolink, resulting in the shutdown of 96 cryptocurrency ATMs. This move comes as countries such as the United States, Canada, and Europe have started to clamp down on cash-to-cryptocurrency kiosks, facilities that are increasingly being linked with fraud and other financial crimes.

The registration of Cryptolink Pty Ltd was suspended for three months starting from August 9, 2026, by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), consequently causing the company to stop the use of its machines during the suspension. The suspension comes on the heels of an earlier penalty of A$56,340 imposed on Cryptolink in October 2025, as well as its enforceable undertaking concerning the late reporting of major cash transactions and concerns regarding its anti-money laundering practices and terrorism financing risk assessments.

The current action by AUSTRAC against the operator is yet another indication that regulators are becoming increasingly intolerant in an industry that has always promoted crypto ATMs as simple ways of buying crypto assets with cash.

A crackdown that reaches well beyond Australia

Cryptolink is not an exception. In August 2024, the German authorities confiscated Bitcoin ATMs, along with €250,000 in cash, in a multiple-agency operation at 35 different sites. The regulatory authority BaFin said the ATM machines had been working illegally without the mandatory licenses stipulated in the German Banking Act.

The UK government has also heightened enforcement. In 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) closed down 26 illegal or crime-related Bitcoin ATMs, which, according to TRM Labs, reduced the number of active machines in Britain by nearly 90%. Further, in 2025, the FCA got the first conviction of a crypto-ATM crime in the UK, and the operator Olumide Osunkoya was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Similar trends are taking place in North America. The 2026 Spring Economic Update in Canada is pushing for a ban on cryptocurrency ATMs, which, it admits, have served scammers in their fraudulent activities while also allowing criminals to funnel the proceeds of crime. In the United States, Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota have enacted bans on the use of cryptocurrency ATMs while others have implemented restrictions and prohibitions on transactions.

Why cash-to-crypto keeps drawing regulators

This is not only a matter of convenience. Crypto ATMs are a convergence of cash and instantaneous transfers, allowing for money to cross borders instantly.

TRM Labs reported that illegal transactions made up nearly 1.2% of cash-to-crypto transactions, which is nearly double the 0.63% level estimated for all crypto activity. From their estimates, it is believed that cash-to-crypto exchanges moved around $160 million illegally since 2019, which included over $30 million that was transferred to known scam accounts in 2023.

Consumer losses are also skyrocketing. As per the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), cryptocurrency ATM scam losses have gone up from 2020 onwards, being 1,000% more than in 2020 and making $388 million in 2025, which is a rise of 58% compared to 2024. Consumers above 60 years of age are more than 3 times more likely to lose money through a crypto-ATM scam and lose around $10,000 on average.

AUSTRAC’s statistics reveal a comparable outcome. People falling in the age group of 50 to 70 years represent almost 72% of the total value revolving around crypto-ATM transactions. An examination of a sample of 90 frequent users indicated that 85% were either victims of scams or money mules.

What tipped Cryptolink into suspension

AUSTRAC’s October 2025 action against Cryptolink followed late reporting of large cash transactions and weaknesses in its risk assessments.

The latest suspension implies that the regulator saw the subsequent compliance breaches as serious enough to require a temporary removal of the operator from the market.

AUSTRAC is also pursuing expanded powers to regulate high-risk goods, services, or delivery methods when control measures now in place are not enough. It specifically singled out cryptocurrency ATMs because these machines convert cash to cryptocurrencies that can be transferred quickly and almost invisibly.

Australia’s outsized ATM footprint

This action is meaningful in light of the fact that Australia’s network of crypto ATMs quickly increased, from 23 machines in 2019 to approximately 2,000 machines in October 2025. AUSTRAC reported that almost 150,000 transactions were made through the network, moving about A$275 million each year.

Since then, the network has contracted. Data reveals that there were 2,036 machines in December 2025, which fell to 1,996 in January 2026, 1,763 in June, and 1,745 on August 10, 2026. This shows that the number of machines has declined by 291, or 14.3%, since the peak number in December.

Why it matters for the global crypto market

Taking 96 Australian machines offline is unlikely to move Bitcoin prices on its own. The bigger story is what the action says about regulation.

Fortune Business Insights estimates the global crypto-ATM market was worth $356.72 million in 2025 and projects a 54.8% CAGR from 2026 through 2034. North America accounted for 88.7% of global market revenue in 2025, underscoring how concentrated the industry remains.

That concentration makes Australia’s action unlikely to create a major liquidity shock. But it adds to a broader squeeze on physical crypto infrastructure.

For global crypto markets, the impact may therefore be gradual rather than dramatic: fewer cash-based access points, tighter transaction limits, higher compliance costs and more scrutiny of where funds are going. For users who depend on cash rather than bank transfers or regulated exchanges, that could make accessing digital assets increasingly difficult.

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