Haverhill's Crypto ATM Apocalypse: 60 Days to Live, $300 Per Day to Die

Haverhill, Massachusetts is about to become the latest municipality to show crypto ATMs the door. Mayor Melinda E. Barrett has proposed an ordinance that would ban these machines entirely, and the City Council appears genuinely thrilled about it—with 11 votes already locked in. Nothing says "we care about our citizens" like a unanimous thumbs-down on automated Bitcoin dispensers.

The mayor's reasoning? Unregulated crypto ATMs are basically fraud factories with extra steps. We're talking financial fraud, money laundering, and the classic "good luck with that" approach to consumer protection. Apparently, elderly folks and less tech-fluent users have been getting absolutely wrecked by scammers leveraging these machines. Who could have possibly seen this coming? Besides everyone, obviously.

Here's the situation: All crypto ATMs in Haverhill have exactly 60 days to pack up and skedaddle. Miss that deadline? No problem, just throw down $300 per day, per machine. Because nothing screams "protecting the vulnerable" quite like a fine that's less expensive than a single Bitcoin pizza.

Per CoinATMRadar, there are roughly 415 crypto ATMs sprinkled in and around Haverhill. That's a whole lot of machines potentially drafting their farewell LinkedIn posts.

Bitcoin Depot, the self-proclaimed king of crypto ATMs, is probably feeling this one in its gut. High transaction volume means high exposure when things go sideways. And speaking of things going sideways, the company has been on a losing streak since Q3 2025. CEO Scott Buchanan apparently decided he'd had enough of this particular roller coaster and stepped down. Taking over the hot seat? Alex Holmes, formerly of MoneyGram fame—because nothing says "we've got this" like hiring someone from a company that also knows a thing or two about regulatory headaches.

February 2026 delivered even more entertainment—Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell sued Bitcoin Depot, alleging scammers used their ATMs to drain residents' pockets dry. But here's the actual plot twist: Bitcoin Depot stock actually surged 7.39% to $2.18 in the last trading session. Because apparently, getting sued by the state just screams "buy the dip" to a certain subset of investors. That said, the stock has cratered over 91% in the past six months, so perhaps not everything is coming up roses in this particular garden.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire decided to take a markedly different approach. They've passed bipartisan legislation that would reimburse crypto ATM scam victims—if they report within 14 days. Now that's what I call proactive governance. Nothing says "we've got your back" quite like a two-week window to file paperwork after watching your savings vanish into the blockchain void.

This legislative flurry followed an absolute gem of an incident back in October 2025. A South Hadley business owner was renting out a crypto ATM for $200 monthly when