Vladimir Gorbunov, founder of Choise.ai, expressed concerns over crypto ATM bans, suggesting they address symptoms rather than targeting scammers and consumer education. He noted that most fraud occurs in traditional payment systems. This statement was made on HackerNoon.
"If we ban crypto ATMs because scammers used phones to trick people into using them, why not ban phones," said Gorbunov. "The established, trillion-dollar legacy financial system gets to fail upward, its security flaws patched over with insurance and customer service protocols."
According to Axios, various cities and states across the United States have increased their regulatory actions concerning crypto kiosks due to a rise in scams affecting older residents. Illinois and Vermont have introduced statewide limits, while Spokane, Washington, has implemented a citywide ban. Cities in Minnesota, including Stillwater, are considering similar restrictions. Advocacy groups such as AARP have supported at least a dozen legislative bills aimed at this issue. Despite these measures, operators report strong economic performance, indicating a trend towards stricter oversight rather than outright elimination at the state level.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that losses related to Bitcoin ATM scams have surged nearly tenfold since 2020, reaching over $110 million in 2023 and surpassing $65 million in just the first half of 2024. The FTC highlights that many scams involve impersonation and urgent instructions to deposit cash into BTMs using QR codes. Given that most frauds go unreported, these figures likely underestimate the total harm. The agency emphasizes consumer education and verification of unsolicited contact as crucial protective steps.
In contrast, GlobeNewswire reported that traditional payment card fraud remains significantly larger. According to The Nilson Report, global card fraud losses amounted to $33.83 billion in 2023, with the U.S. being disproportionately affected by card-not-present transactions driving much of the total loss. Despite improvements in fraud prevention efforts, the increasing use of cards keeps absolute losses high. Policymakers and industry stakeholders anticipate global card fraud could accumulate hundreds of billions over the next decade without stronger controls.
Gorbunov is a serial fintech entrepreneur who founded Choise.ai and has been active in digital assets since 2017. He previously led consumer-facing crypto products and frequently discusses bridging mainstream users to decentralized finance. In recent communications from Choise.ai, Gorbunov outlined plans for 2024–2025 focusing on enterprise-grade crypto tools, security measures, and user education. His commentary often stresses practical risk controls over blanket prohibitions by emphasizing social-engineering defenses and transparent user experiences for on/off-ramps.
