Key Takeaways:
- AUSTRAC has imposed a three-month ban on Cryptolink’s VASP registration.
- All of the company’s 96 crypto ATMs have to be removed from service in Australia.
- A lack of reports on transactions along with concerns of high-risk use of cryptocurrencies were cited as regulatory reasons.
Australia’s financial crime regulator has withheld its license because the operator of Cryptolink’s cryptocurrency ATMs has failed to fully resolve issues with money laundering controls. Following suspension on August 9, this will leave 96 machines off-line for three months.
AUSTRAC Suspends Cryptolink’s Crypto ATM Operations
Registration of the company as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) has been suspended by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), which will not allow the company to run its cryptocurrency Automatic Teller Machines (CATM).
Cryptolink is able to provide the machines that enable customers to trade cash for cryptocurrency. The body AUSTRAC cautioned that the firm would continue to be vigilant in detecting and regulating transactions that may be linked to money launderers or terrorists.
AUSTRAC Chief Executive Brendan Thomas said that the regulator had provided Cryptolink with sufficient time to rectify its compliance issues, but the company was then unable to keep up with some basic reporting requirements.
The main problem had to do with threshold transaction reports which form part of Australia’s AML/CTF regime. AUSTRAC found that Cryptolink failed to provide reports and did not get back to the regulator regarding requests for information.
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Previous $56,340 Penalty Failed to Resolve Concerns
This new suspension is the continuation of a process started last year by the administration. In October 2025, AUSTRAC accepted an enforceable undertaking from Cryptolink after its Cryptocurrency Taskforce identified alleged breaches of AML laws. Those concerns were reflected in the lack of timely reporting of threshold transactions and inadequacies in the firm’s AML/CTF risk assessments.
Cryptolink also was notified and fined $56,340 for infringing. However the company, though it fulfilled the terms of that commitment, subsequently failed to uphold these reporting requirements, AUSTRAC said. The regulator thus decided that Cryptolink was too risky to continue running.
Crypto ATMs Face Closer Regulatory Scrutiny
The development follows a trend of regulatory scrutiny over cryptocurrency ATMs to facilitate exchanges between cash and digital currencies, unlike traditional cryptocurrency exchanges.
The regulator has set up its Crypto Taskforce and has since undertaken supervisory engagements with crypto ATM providers since the end of 2024. AUSTRAC has also identified that the use of digital currency would be a potential area to closely monitor as being able to be used to facilitate the movement of funds rapidly and across borders.
Thomas stated that, while Cryptolink is suspended, AUSTRAC will keep an eye on the company to ensure it complies with the order. The regulator also cautioned that it will also persist in its efforts with cryptocurrency enterprises with respect to serious AML/CTF risk and compliance breaches.
With a suspension period of three months, the 96 CATM’s that Cryptolink is processing are unable to function during that three-month interval. Until the company has resolved AUSTRAC’s concerns, it will be unable to re-enter the Australian crypto ATM market.
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