Jackson’s City Council voted unanimously on September 22 to prohibit cryptocurrency kiosks in the city. The ordinance takes effect October 22, and existing machines must be removed within 90 days after that date, MLive reported.
The rule bars installing, permitting or hosting a kiosk, including one owned or operated by a third party, and also prohibits cashier-facilitated virtual-currency transactions. Jackson police and the city’s Community Development Department code enforcement division are responsible for enforcement. MLive reported that violations carry a $500 civil infraction, with each day a kiosk remains after a violation notice counting separately; the city may also revoke a license or permit, and a kiosk not removed after notice is subject to forfeiture.
What the national figures can—and can’t—show
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded more than 13,000 cryptocurrency-kiosk complaints in 2025, with reported losses exceeding $388 million. Complaints rose 23% and losses 58% from 2024, according to the IC3. For the previous year, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported more than 10,956 kiosk-related complaints and approximately $246.7 million in reported victim losses.
Those totals need qualification: IC3 says a complaint involving a kiosk may also include other kinds of transactions, so the reported losses cannot be attributed solely to kiosks. The national figures also do not establish how much, if any, of those losses involved Jackson machines. The city’s resolution, as described by MLive, says kiosk transactions can be difficult to interrupt and that scammers may persuade victims to send money through them.
A ban is not the only local response
Port Huron chose registration rather than prohibition. Mid-Michigan NOW reported that its ordinance requires kiosk operators to register with the City Clerk annually, with registration due by October 1, 2026. The two cities’ rules therefore take different approaches; the Port Huron requirement does not ban kiosks.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s consumer alert offers a straightforward warning: no legitimate company or government agency will ask someone to deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM. A request to do so is a scam, the Attorney General’s office says.
Scrutiny has also reached operators outside Michigan. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported that Massachusetts’s attorney general sued Bitcoin Depot on February 3, alleging the company allowed criminals to use its kiosks to scam state residents. That separate lawsuit is an allegation, not a finding about Jackson’s machines or operators.
