Texas residents lost $56.8 million to cryptocurrency kiosks last year, more than residents of any other U.S. state, according to FBI figures presented to a legislative committee on Thursday. Texas accounted for 1,179 of the 13,460 complaints the bureau recorded nationwide in 2025, a year in which reported losses tied to the machines rose 58% to $389 million.
These kiosks convert cash into cryptocurrency and are often located in gas stations and convenience stores. The Texas Tribune counts about 4,000 of them statewide. In typical scams, victims are persuaded to withdraw money from their bank accounts and feed the cash into one of the machines.
What Texas lawmakers heard at the committee meeting
The Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs was taking invited testimony on foreign financial influence when the discussion quickly shifted to crypto. Rep. AJ Louderback told the panel, "In my career, I've never seen a more efficient, cleaner way to steal money."
Kelley Currie, a fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Interpol now treats scamming as an industry comparable to drug trafficking and human trafficking.
Currie also said the kiosks in gas stations "are run by Chinese money launderers." The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Chinese nationals in connection with crypto fraud compounds in Southeast Asia and has prosecuted Chinese money laundering networks that moved scam proceeds, but it has not said those groups generally operate the kiosks.
Jesse Saucillo, deputy commissioner at the Texas Department of Banking, said recovery is close to impossible once the money moves. He told lawmakers that funds typically go to an unhosted wallet and then "gets into a mixer" and beyond, making it "very hard to get any of that back." He also said AI-generated impersonations of police and state agencies are making scam calls more convincing.
States across the U.S. are tightening rules on crypto kiosks
Since 2023, around 30 states have enacted legislation related to crypto kiosks, according to AARP.
South Dakota caps transactions at $1,000 per day and $10,000 per month and requires full refunds for fraud victims. Wisconsin and Virginia have adopted similar caps. In Maine, the state regulator secured a $1.9 million settlement from Bitcoin Depot to reimburse victims.
Indiana banned the machines outright in March, becoming the first state to do so. Under that law, the attorney general can sue both kiosk operators and the stores that host them. Nearly 900 kiosks were still operating in the state when the governor signed the bill. Tennessee and Minnesota have since followed.
Texas may go beyond regulation
Committee chair Rep. Cole Hefner said Texas would consider "doing more than regulating them" and suggested legislation could be coming. "I got a pretty good idea coming down," he told colleagues. "And it's kind of simple, but kind of abrupt."