Provo City Council bans cryptocurrency kiosks, phases in effective date

The Provo City Council on May 26 adopted an ordinance that prohibits businesses from hosting or operating virtual currency kiosks on their premises, a move councilors said is aimed at reducing a fraud vector linked to time-pressured scams.

Council policy analyst Malia Daley told the council the proposed ordinance would add a new section under miscellaneous criminal provisions to make it unlawful for a business to post, operate or permit a kiosk. “This would not make cryptocurrency transactions illegal in Provo,” Daley said, noting people could still transact on phones or laptops; the change only prevents businesses from hosting the kiosks.

Daley said local police records show one explicitly recorded crypto-related fraud report in Provo and numerous fraud-tagged calls that may or may not be crypto-related; she did not parse the full thousand-call dataset to confirm how many had attached police reports. She estimated there are about six kiosks in the city, depending on the source used to locate them.

Councilors asked whether banning kiosks would impose contractual or financial burdens on small businesses that host them. Daley said staff could set a delayed effective date for the ordinance to allow businesses time to close out contracts. Council members discussed a substitute that adjusted the ordinance’s effective timing: the motion set the ordinance to take effect four months after passage, with an additional 60-day window specified in the ordinance text.

During debate councilors raised competing concerns: some members emphasized consumer protection and the psychological role of time pressure in scams, while others worried about removing a low-revenue option for underbanked residents and small businesses. One councilor reported visiting a host business and hearing that the hosts earn a small share per transaction and some hosts have already been removing kiosks due to declining usage.

After the substitute on timing passed, the council voted on the ordinance as amended; the motion passed 5–2. Two councilors voted no. The council asked staff to coordinate outreach and notification to the handful of businesses operating kiosks to explain the change and timeline.

The ordinance text, as explained by staff, prohibits hosting or operating kiosks but does not criminalize cryptocurrency transactions conducted on personal devices. The council directed administration to follow up on notification procedures for affected businesses. The ordinance will take effect under the timing established by the substituted language approved by the council.

The council adjourned following the vote.