DeSantis Signs Daley-Backed Crypto ATM Fraud Bill Into Law

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State Rep Dan Daley.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law a bill co-sponsored by State Rep. Dan Daley (D-Coral Springs) that places new restrictions on virtual currency kiosks, the crypto ATM-style machines authorities say are increasingly used in fraud schemes targeting seniors and other vulnerable residents.

The measure, sponsored in the House by Rep. Michael Owen, R-Apollo Beach, and co-sponsored by Daley, requires virtual currency kiosk businesses to comply with new state rules covering registration, customer warnings, daily transaction limits, receipts, and refunds. The measure passed unanimously in both chambers before being sent to the governor.

“As a former prosecutor, I have seen firsthand the devastating impact financial crimes can have on victims and their families,” Daley wrote in a Facebook post after the bill was signed.

Daley said he and Owen’s bill “strengthen[s] protections against cryptocurrency scams through stronger oversight of crypto ATMs, enhanced consumer protections, and clear safeguards designed to prevent fraud, helping protect seniors and other vulnerable Floridians from becoming victims of financial scams.”

Daley told Coral Springs Talk the issue was brought to his attention by a Broward Sheriff’s Office member, after fraud cases arose involving victims being scammed into depositing large amounts of cash into crypto kiosks. Daley said the lack of daily limits allowed seniors to put $20,000, $30,000, or even $40,000 into the machines, which have been installed at businesses including gas stations, before realizing they had been scammed.

Under the new law, kiosk businesses are barred from allowing new customers to transact more than $2,000 per calendar day and existing customers to transact more than $10,000 per calendar day. Those limits apply whether the money is moved through one transaction, multiple transactions, one kiosk, or several kiosks.

The law defines a new customer as someone who has used a kiosk business for fewer than seven days, and an existing customer as someone who has used the business for seven or more days.

Before a transaction starts, a kiosk must ask customers whether they used another virtual currency kiosk that day and how much they transacted. The machine also must display a fraud warning telling customers to stop the transaction if they were directed to the kiosk by someone claiming to be a government agent, bill collector, law enforcement officer, or anyone they do not know personally.

The law also requires kiosk businesses to offer customers a physical or electronic receipt after a transaction. The receipt must include the date and time of the transaction, the amount in U.S. dollars, the transaction type, the total fee, the exchange rate if applicable, the refund policy, and other important information.

The refund provision requires a full refund within 72 hours for a customer’s first virtual currency transaction if the customer reports the alleged fraud to the kiosk business and a law enforcement or government agency within 60 days. The customer must also provide proof, such as a police report or notarized affidavit.

Daley said the machines are “huge for scamming and money laundering,” and questioned why legitimate crypto investors would use kiosks with much higher fees than ordinary trading apps.

Daley said some crypto kiosks can charge transaction fees of up to 30 percent while a person can “go on an app and trade crypto for a two percent fee.” He added that he is “not really sure what savvy crypto investor is using” a crypto ATM at a gas station.

Most of the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, while the registration requirement for virtual currency kiosk businesses takes effect March 1, 2027. Under that provision, a virtual currency kiosk business may not operate in Florida without registering with the state Office of Financial Regulation or renewing its registration, unless it falls under an exemption for licensed money transmitters that are still subject to several of the new kiosk-specific rules.

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Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.