AUSTRAC Shuts 96 Crypto ATMs, Suspends Cryptolink
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- AUSTRAC suspended Cryptolink's Virtual Asset Service Provider registration for three months effective August 9, shutting all 96 of the operator's crypto ATMs in Australia.
- Cryptolink failed to meet "basic reporting obligations" — especially threshold transaction reports on cash transactions above the limit — and ignored AUSTRAC's information requests, AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said.
- Cryptolink had already paid a $56,340 fine and signed an enforceable undertaking in October 2025 for alleged late reporting and weak risk assessments, but the earlier penalties "bought time the operator didn't use," per the regulator.
- Australia now hosts roughly 1,800 crypto ATMs, up from 23 in 2019 — the highest count in Asia Pacific — with about $275 million flowing through them annually, according to the Australian Federal Police.
- Australia's Home Affairs Minister has proposed giving AUSTRAC power to control or prohibit high-risk products including crypto ATMs, while the agency's Crypto Taskforce has engaged operators since late 2024.
- Brendan Thomas warned the regulator "will continue to keep a close watch on the cryptocurrency sector, particularly businesses operating crypto ATMs, and will take action where we identify serious risks or non-compliance."
Why it matters: AUSTRAC pulled the registration of the country's largest crypto ATM operator despite a prior $56,340 fine and enforceable undertaking, showing that earlier penalties are no longer shielding repeat offenders as Australia weighs broader powers to ban or restrict high-risk crypto products. The November 9, 2026 suspension deadline gives regulators a defined window to escalate against an industry that even operators admit became "a safe haven for bad actors."
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