Delaware committee advances statewide ban on crypto kiosks

Delaware lawmakers advanced House Bill 441 on Tuesday, a proposal to ban cryptocurrency kiosks across the state. The measure would require existing machines to stop operating immediately and be removed within 90 days. The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.

The proposal was presented to the House Technology & Telecommunications Committee by Representative Cyndie Romer, who framed it as a consumer protection measure. Romer argued the kiosks “reduce digital currency to a predatory cash grab,” citing fees at some machines that can be “upwards of 20% of the value of the transaction,” compared with “0.4% to 1% in fees for online exchanges.”

Senator Spiros Mantzavinos, the Senate sponsor, described the bill as a “responsible measure” and called for regulatory action “as cryptocurrency becomes more prevalent in our society.”

Lawmakers cited law enforcement data to justify the restrictions. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged more than 13,400 complaints involving cryptocurrency kiosks in 2025, a 23% increase in such complaints and a 58% rise in reported losses year over year. The FBI’s broader 2025 report shows Americans reported $11.366 billion in losses to crypto-related scams and filed 181,565 crypto-related complaints, an overall increase in both losses and complaint volume.

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings characterized the machines as deceptively benign and warned they are “tailor-made to defraud consumers,” calling them “obsolete for legitimate investors and ripe for abuse against everyone else.”

Advocates for older adults highlighted senior-targeting in kiosk-related fraud. Lucretia Young, AARP’s Delaware state director, noted that many people convinced by scammers to move money to protect savings or help a loved one deposited funds at these kiosks, and that those losses are often unrecoverable.

If enacted, Delaware would join Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota in imposing statewide bans on crypto ATMs. Since 2023, about 30 states have considered kiosk-related legislation. Tennessee’s law makes owning or operating the machines a criminal offense and set a deadline for operators to shut them down by July 1.

Supporters of House Bill 441 said the 90-day removal timeline is needed to stop further losses. Opponents have argued kiosks can provide access to digital assets for people without bank accounts and have urged licensing or oversight as an alternative to an outright ban. The Senate has not announced a schedule for debate.