Albuquerque bans cryptocurrency ATMs to fight scammers

Albuquerque has banned cryptocurrency ATMs to fight scammers who direct victims to deposit cash into the machines, city councilors said. The ban comes as part of a broader effort to curb what officials described as a rising problem of financial fraud tied to the machines.

City councilors Stephanie Telles and Tammy Fiebelkorn sponsored the measure, according to a report on the New Mexico Political Pulse program on KRQE News 13.

The council’s action is one of several political headlines out of New Mexico this week. State leaders are also responding to a social media post from President Trump that appears to suggest renaming New Mexico to “New America.” New Mexico Democrats denounced the idea, with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham calling the president’s post an effort “to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran.”