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Wisconsin lawmakers propose stricter regulations for crypto kiosks

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August 14, 2025

Wisconsin Democrats have introduced two identical bills, Senate Bill 386 and Assembly Bill 384, to tighten regulations on cryptocurrency kiosks.

The legislative push comes in response to a surge in fraud, with the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reporting a 99% increase in fraud complaints and nearly $247 million in victim losses in 2024, according to a Decrypt report.

The bills, which are awaiting committee review in the state legislature, propose several new consumer protections and requirements for the state's 582 crypto kiosks:

• Operators would be required to obtain a money transmitter license.
• Machines would have to display mandatory fraud alerts.
• Operators would need to implement strict identity verification protocols, including collecting personal information and photo identification before a transaction.
• A daily transaction limit of $1,000 per customer would be enforced.
• Fees would be capped at the greater of $5 or 3% of the transaction amount.
• The bills also include a provision for mandatory refunds for fraud victims who report the incident to authorities within 30 days.

This legislative effort follows similar actions in other parts of the world and the U.S., with the city of Spokane, Washington, recently voting to completely ban crypto kiosks due to concerns over fraud.