Senate Finance reviews S.129; debate centers on moratorium, transaction limits and consumer protections for crypto kiosks

At a Senate Finance Committee meeting, legislative counsel and the Department of Financial Regulation reviewed S.129 — a bill that would change how in-person virtual-currency kiosks operate in the state — and committee members heard competing proposals from industry and consumer advocates about transaction limits, fee caps and new consumer protections.

Maria Bridal, legislative counsel, walked the committee through S.129 and said the bill would change the daily transaction limit that currently applies to kiosk purchases and add new consumer-protection requirements, including expanded disclosures and requirements for blockchain-analytics and anti-fraud programs.

Ethan McLaughlin, assistant general counsel for the Department of Financial Regulation, described findings from DFR’s report and framed why the agency now “recommend[s] extending the moratorium for at least another year.” McLaughlin told the committee that federal and state data show substantial fraud at kiosks: he cited an FTC finding of a roughly tenfold increase in reported kiosk-related fraud losses from 2020 to 2023 and said the median reported loss in some data was $10,000. He said DFR’s current view is that additional safeguards and more time to study outcomes in other jurisdictions are needed…