Crypto Kiosks Now Require License And Surety Bond To Operate In Nevada

The state of Nevada has made abrupt changes to its policies about cryptocurrency kiosks. Crypto kiosks in the state are now required to have a state money transmission license for them to be considered compliant with Nevada regulations.

This move by state authorities has caught the crypto community in Nevada by surprise. The change of position on kiosks was done without any prior announcement and the decision was abrupt.

The state has been trying to regulate cryptocurrency, and in a legislative session earlier in May, a proposed cryptocurrency bill failed to pass. It seems that the state’s regulators have resorted to reinterpreting existing regulations and using them as regulations for crypto kiosks.

Nevada requirements for kiosks

According to the state’s authorities, a crypto kiosk should be licensed by the state and the kiosks will now require a surety bond. The state uses surety bonds as a security for customers against possible business failure.

The state of Nevada has set the required surety bond at $5,000 for every kiosk. Authorities have set $250,000 as of the point at which bonds max out. These bond requirements could be quite steep for a business which has kiosks at a number of different locations as each of the kiosks will have to have its bond.

Julie Hanivold, the state’s regulator at the Nevada Division of Financial Institutions said that these measures were in the pipeline and they were waiting on the cryptocurrency bill to pass before implementing them.

After the bill failed to pass, the regulator has reinterpreted the current regulations on money transmissions in a bid to include crypto kiosks under these statutes.

Hanivold went on to say that the authority has no intentions to issue a press statement and that all the information one could need is available on the state’s website. Businesses which have placed inquiries with the state regulator over the past year will be recalled so that they can be updated on the state’s position.

The regulator said that they are giving kiosks six months to comply with the new regulations. After the grace period passes, owners of the kiosks will be notified that they are in breach of the new rules, and it is not clear at what point the regulator will take action.

Regulators and cryptocurrency

The Nevada regulator becomes the latest on a long list of American regulatory authorities which have made a statement against cryptocurrency. Digital assets have been under fire in the country, and the pressure on the crypto industry seems to be increasing daily.

Crypto stakeholders have been taking measures to try and stay on the right side of regulators. There is a lack of certainty about how the ongoing battle between regulators and the industry will go, and many crypto traders have moved their investments into Bitcoin as a safe haven crypto asset.

One thing that’s for sure is that the Bitcoin Era is far from over and players in the crypto industry are determined to make a stand. Though crypto robots such as Bitcoin Loophole, which promise investors easy way to earn money, are damaging the industry, others are trying to legitimise the industry.