Australia's financial-crime regulator AUSTRAC has suspended Cryptolink Pty Ltd's registration for three months, pulling the operator's 96 Bitcoin and crypto ATMs offline. The regulator cited missed reporting duties despite an earlier enforceable undertaking and fine. The suspension runs until November 9, 2026.
Australia's financial-crime regulator AUSTRAC suspended Cryptolink Pty Ltd's registration as a Virtual Asset Service Provider for three months, pulling the company's 96 Bitcoin and crypto ATMs offline effective August 9. The suspension runs until November 9, 2026.
AUSTRAC found that Cryptolink had met the terms of an earlier enforceable undertaking but then failed to meet basic reporting obligations, particularly threshold transaction reports. The company also did not respond to the regulator's request for information.
CEO Brendan Thomas said the regulator “deemed it too high risk to continue operating at present.”
The suspension follows an October 2025 enforceable undertaking, issued after AUSTRAC's Cryptocurrency Taskforce found alleged late reporting and weak risk assessments at the company. Cryptolink paid a $56,340 fine at the time, but the earlier penalties did not stop the regulator from suspending its registration months later.
Those 96 machines are a slice of a much larger network. Australia now hosts roughly 1,800 crypto ATMs, the most in the Asia Pacific region and up from just 23 in 2019, according to AUSTRAC.
Regulators increasingly treat the machines as a channel for scams and money laundering, and Australia's Home Affairs Minister has proposed giving AUSTRAC power to control or prohibit so-called high-risk products such as crypto ATMs. The regulator's Crypto Taskforce has been engaging operators since late 2024.
The Australian Federal Police estimates about $275 million moves through the country's Bitcoin and crypto ATMs every year.
Source: Decrypt
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
