New Zealand Cracks Down: Bitcoin ATMs Axed in Anti-Money Laundering Blitz

New Zealand slams the brakes on crypto convenience—all Bitcoin ATMs face shutdown in the government's latest AML offensive.

Regulators pull the plug

No more quick-fix fiat-to-crypto conversions. The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) just unplugged every last Bitcoin ATM across both islands, calling them 'high-risk vectors' for illicit finance. Guess those compliance costs finally outweighed the tourist novelty factor.

The compliance paradox

While banks get away with billion-dollar fines for actual money laundering, Kiwi regulators take the path of least resistance—banning machines that handled less volume than a Wellington coffee shop's weekly card transactions. Classic case of security theater meets innovation-stifling bureaucracy.

Crypto adapts (again)

Peer-to-peer platforms already seeing 300% spikes in Kiwi signups. Because nothing fuels decentralized adoption like clumsy government overreach—ask any Venezuelan or Nigerian trader.