How to use a Bitcoin ATM: fees, limits and scam warning signs

A Bitcoin ATM is a kiosk where you put in cash and the machine sends bitcoin to a wallet address you scan as a QR code. Some machines also buy bitcoin back for cash. This page explains how to use a Bitcoin ATM, what it costs and which rules apply. Before anything else: no real business or government agency will ever tell you to withdraw cash and use a Bitcoin ATM to protect your money or fix a problem. If someone told you to, stop now and read the scam section below. For a wider view of your options, see our overview of ways to buy and sell crypto.

How a Bitcoin ATM works

Bitcoin ATMs, also called crypto kiosks, are increasingly found in convenience and grocery stores, gas stations and similar places, the FTC noted in September 2024. Most machines are one-way: you insert cash and receive crypto. A smaller number are two-way and can also pay out cash for bitcoin you send.

A typical Bitcoin ATM purchase does not leave the coins with the operator. The machine sends them to a wallet address, so you need a wallet of your own first. Our guide to setting up a wallet you control covers that step.

Once a bitcoin transfer is confirmed, it cannot be reversed. That is how blockchain transfers work, and it is why a mistake or scam at a kiosk is so hard to undo.

How to use a Bitcoin ATM step by step

1. Set up your own wallet. Open it and display its receive address as a QR code. Never scan a QR code that someone else gave you. The FBI warns against following instructions from a person you have never met to scan a QR code and pay through a kiosk.
2. Check the machine and the operator. If you found a Bitcoin ATM near you on a map, look at the operator name on the kiosk and read the fee and rate shown on screen before you put in any money. In California, kiosk operators doing digital asset business have needed a licence under the state's Digital Financial Assets Law since 1 July 2026.
3. Expect an identity check. The machine may ask for a phone number and a photo ID, and some ask for more on larger amounts. Requirements vary by operator and location.
4. Choose buy and scan your own QR code. Insert the cash, then confirm the exchange rate and the fee on the final screen. Keep the receipt.
5. Check your wallet. The incoming transaction should appear there. Keep the transaction ID.
6. If you want to sell, use a machine that supports it. It shows you an address to send bitcoin to and then pays out cash. We explain the process in how selling bitcoin works.

If the screen warns that the transaction looks like fraud, stop or cancel it. That advice comes from the FBI.

What a Bitcoin ATM costs

Fees and the exchange rate are set by each operator and shown on the screen before you confirm. They are usually higher than on an online exchange.

Since 1 January 2025, California has capped the charge on a kiosk transaction at the greater of $5 or 15% of the dollar value of the digital assets involved. That cap is a legal maximum in one state, not a typical price. Wherever you are, read the on-screen fee before you insert cash.

To compare a kiosk with other routes, read what to check before choosing an exchange.

Limits and rules in the United States

California

From 1 January 2024, an operator may not accept or dispense more than $1,000 a day from or to one customer. A Los Angeles Superior Court upheld the daily limit on 30 August 2024, describing it as a reasonable method for limiting fraud. The fee cap above applies from 1 January 2025, and the licensing requirement took effect on 1 July 2026.

Illinois

If you use a Bitcoin ATM in Illinois, including Chicago, the Digital Asset Kiosks Act applies. It was signed on 18 August 2025. Operators may not accept or dispense more than $2,500 a day from or to a new customer.

The law also gives some scam victims a refund route. A new customer who was defrauded can ask the operator for a full refund within 30 days of the last transaction. Conditions apply, including reporting the fraud to the police or a government agency. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) reported on 19 October 2026 that more than $750,000 had been refunded to Illinois consumers and 453 refund requests had been received since the law was signed.

Other states have their own rules, so check your state's financial regulator before you use a machine.

Taxes

The IRS treats digital assets as property, not currency. Selling bitcoin for cash at a two-way machine is a disposal, which the digital asset question on Form 1040 covers.

Bitcoin ATMs in the UK

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says it is illegal to operate crypto ATMs in the UK without FCA registration. On 28 February 2025, Olumide Osunkoya was sentenced to four years at Southwark Crown Court for illegal crypto activity worth over £2.5m and related offences. His firm had been refused registration in December 2021. The details are in the FCA press release. The FCA also publishes a list of cryptoasset businesses operating without registration.

Before you use a crypto ATM in a UK shop, check whether its operator is registered with the FCA. If you cannot confirm it, do not use the machine. Owning bitcoin is not illegal. Running an unregistered machine is.

Crypto is largely unregulated in the UK, so it is highly unlikely that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme would cover crypto losses, as the FCA's consumer guidance states (updated 29 January 2026). A new UK cryptoasset regime comes into force on 25 October 2027. Until then, the FCA says its oversight of crypto is limited to financial promotions and anti-money laundering controls.

Bitcoin ATM scams: the warning signs

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 13,400 complaints involving crypto kiosks in 2025, with losses over $388 million, up 58% on 2024. More than half of the complaints came from people over 50. The FBI adds that overall losses cannot be solely attributed to kiosks. The figures are in its 15 May 2026 public service announcement.

A Bitcoin ATM scam usually shows several of these signs:

• A call or message about suspicious activity on your Amazon or bank account, or a claim that you are linked to money laundering or drug smuggling.
• An instruction to withdraw cash from a bank, investment or retirement account.
• A QR code you are given and cannot explain.
• Someone who stays on the phone with you and gives detailed, step-by-step instructions.
• A warning on the kiosk screen that the transaction looks like fraud, while the caller tells you to ignore it.

Real businesses and government agencies will never tell you to use a Bitcoin ATM to protect your money or fix a problem. Read more in our guide to how common crypto scams work.

What to do if you already paid

Stop sending any further money.

• Keep every receipt.
• Report the loss to your local police and to the FBI at ic3.gov. Include the transaction ID, the wallet address, the kiosk location and a description of what happened.
• In the US, also report the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, as the FTC advises.
• If you are a new customer in Illinois, ask the operator for a refund within 30 days of your last transaction and include your police or agency report.

Do not assume you will get money back in any other state or in the UK. After a loss, you may be contacted by people who promise to recover your crypto for a fee. That is a known follow-up scam, so do not pay them.

Frequently asked questions