CHARLESTON – Bills addressing the issues of the West Virginia chapter of AARP over the rising development of cryptocurrency kiosks are on the move in each the Home of Delegates and state Senate.
The Home Finance Committee really helpful a committee substitute for Home Invoice 5353 Thursday morning, sending it to the full Home for consideration. The invoice’s lead sponsor is Home Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wooden.
HB 5353 would create a regulatory framework for digital foreign money kiosks – additionally referred to as cryptocurrency kiosks – and digital wallets. Operators could be categorized as cash transmitters, requiring them to acquire annual licenses and cling to strict disclosure and refund protocols.
The committee substitute limits the complete charges and commissions a kiosk operator can cost per transaction, with a 15% flat payment restrict. The invoice limits the every day transaction limits for present clients and new clients, outlined as people registered with the kiosk operators for 10 days or much less. Current clients could be restricted to a $10,000 every day restrict.
In response to AARP-WV, cryptocurrency kiosks are unregulated in many states, together with West Virginia. However 24 states have taken some motion, with 17 of them passing complete laws to guard shoppers.
“It’s a substantial drawback nationwide,” Criss mentioned throughout the committee listening to on the invoice Wednesday. “We’re actually watching individuals take hundreds of {dollars} and put into these machines and never be capable to get well. … Most typically it’s the senior residents … which have accrued some money, and they’re being duped to assume they’re getting one thing for nothing.”
The invoice places regulatory authority over cryptocurrency kiosks in the palms of the state Division of Finance Service. Common Counsel Kathy Lawson mentioned the 15% flat payment is supposed to be a center floor.
“You’ve gotten some states as little as 3%. Some states don’t have any payment restrict in any respect,” Lawson mentioned Thursday. “We now have had discussions and we’re persevering with discussions with the numerous events. At this level, we’ve sort of come to this center street as we proceed all through the course of.”
HB 5353 incudes a number of layers of safety geared toward disclosures and the restoration of funds in fraudulent situations. Licensees are topic to disclosure necessities concerning their interactions with clients. These disclosures have to be supplied to the buyer, and the operator should acquire a written receipt of the disclosures.
The invoice permits for the cancellation and refund of fraudulent transactions for brand spanking new clients, supplied that the refund is requested inside 10 days of the buyer’s preliminary registration, and the fraud is reported to legislation enforcement inside 30 days. The laws features a mandate for an enhanced due diligence course of designed to detect and stop fraud concentrating on elder adults.
HB 5353 is just like Senate Invoice 887 which the Senate Banking and Insurance coverage Committee really helpful for passage final week, sending the invoice to the Senate Finance Committee. State Sen. Trenton Barnhart, R-Pleasants, is the lead sponsor.
Cryptocurrency kiosks, which resemble normal financial institution ATMs, are typically utilized by criminals to trick individuals into transferring their funds. These machines are generally situated in high-traffic public areas comparable to grocery shops, fuel stations, laundromats and comfort shops. Transactions by way of cryptocurrency kiosks are sometimes not refundable and embrace hidden charges.
In response to polling commissioned by AARP-WV final November with greater than 1,000 voters, 42% of West Virginia voters erroneously consider cryptocurrency ATM operators are already required to be licensed by the state. Solely 11% appropriately recognized the lack of licensing necessities.
In response to the FBI’s Web Crime Criticism Heart, West Virginians misplaced greater than $7.6 million to cryptocurrency scams in 2024. And in line with new nationwide information launched by the FBI for 2025, there have been greater than $333 million in reported losses by way of cryptocurrency kiosks to scams.
Talking to committee members Wednesday throughout a listening to on HB 5353, AARP-WV State Director Gaylene Miller mentioned the intent of the invoice is to guard weak populations who won’t notice they’re not utilizing a traditional ATM. Miller mentioned there are greater than 500 cryptocurrency kiosks in the state.
“I wish to be sure that all people understands that Home Invoice 5353 doesn’t ban cryptocurrency kiosks, nevertheless it ensures they function safely, transparently, and with strong shopper protections, closing loopholes that criminals are aggressively exploiting,” Miller mentioned. “These kiosks permit individuals to conduct respectable cryptocurrency transactions, comparable to sending cash to digital wallets. Nevertheless, criminals are more and more utilizing these machines to steal cash from rip-off victims as the new digital getaway automotive for scammers.”
