The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) once again decisively acts against Bitcoin ATMs. It seizes 13 devices; operators face painful penalties.

BaFin has once again taken harsh measures against Bitcoin ATMs, the Bitcoin ATMs. Along with the police and the Bundesbank, it raided 35 locations and seized 13 devices as well as cash amounting to a quarter of a million euros.

According to WirtschaftsWoche, the main focus of the raid was in southern Germany, but BaFin only mentioned Stuttgart and Munich as the locations of the confiscated machines. At some locations, the ATMs had apparently already been removed, indicating that the operators only ran them for a short period.

BaFin unfortunately keeps details under wraps. It is known that the machines were „illegally installed“ as they did not have explicit permission from BaFin. Those who violate this, such as the operators of the confiscated machines, could face up to five years in prison.

In the press release, BaFin also mentions that „some exchange machines attract users with criminal intentions.“ Those accepting large sums of cash over 10,000 euros are obligated to verify the identity of the customer and check whether the money is of reportable illegal origin. „Exchange machines that do not comply with these due diligence obligations are suitable for money laundering due to their anonymity,“ comments BaFin. Hence, the suspicion is that this was the case with the confiscated machines.

But nothing is known for sure. It is clear that Germany is a wasteland regarding Bitcoin ATMs compared to most neighbors like Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands. This condition stubbornly persists despite all attempts to bring ATMs to Germany.

View of the ATM density in Germany and its neighbors according to Bitcoin ATM Map

In 2020, there was a brief period when Bitcoin ATMs seemed on the verge of breaking through in Germany. The then Federal Bitcoin Association wanted to create facts through the initiative Bitte1Bitcoin by installing machines at various locations. They were followed by various providers, including Orderbob and Freefall from Austria, or Coin Fellows from Stuttgart.

But today the website of Bitte1Bitcoin is empty, Orderbob apparently no longer operates machines in Germany, and although something was heard from Freefall in January, the website of the Austrian GmbH is currently „under development.“ Everything that once began to flourish has since wilted. Even Coin Fellows, which had expanded relatively quickly in southern Germany from 2019 and assured that they „strictly adhered to all regulations,“ had to cease operations in July 2020 at the behest of BaFin.

What remains are the machines from Kurant, which apparently are the only ones that comply with BaFin’s regulations. Kurant is a subsidiary of the Austrian Bitcoin broker Coinfinity, which, together with the Sutor Bank, holds the necessary licenses to set up the ATMs. Kurant operates numerous Bitcoin ATMs in Germany, including in branches of MediaMarkt and Saturn.

Using them is not as convenient as many would wish. From the first cent, one has to fully verify themselves at Kurant, and the machines can apparently only be used with a special wallet from the company. This may be appropriate from BaFin’s and regulatory’s point of view – but it makes the ATMs more or less useless.