Canada Proposes Crypto ATM Ban as Fraud Losses Surge

Fraud Crackdown Expands Beyond Crypto ATMs

Canadians reported more than $704 million in fraud losses in 2025, while reported losses since 2022 exceeded $2.4 billion. Authorities estimate that only 5% to 10% of consumer-targeted fraud incidents are officially reported, meaning the visible loss figures likely capture only part of the broader fraud problem.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has warned that fraudsters may push victims to pay through crypto ATMs after initiating scams through online ads, social media posts, fake websites, or direct messages. Salmon Arm RCMP said in April 2026 that scammers posed as government officials and instructed victims to deposit cash into Bitcoin ATMs, with one victim losing $11,900.

The crypto ATM proposal is part of a wider federal push against financial crime, including money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, fraud, extortion, and abuse of money services businesses. Canada also plans to create a Financial Crimes Agency as an independent body reporting to the Minister of Finance, with police powers, civilian leadership, a National Capital Region headquarters, authority to open regional offices, and a mandate to investigate serious financial crimes and recover proceeds of crime.

FINTRAC revoked the registration of 84 money services businesses in March 2026 alone. The government now plans stronger powers, including new Ministerial Directive authority, expanded ability for FINTRAC to refuse or revoke registrations, blocks on re-registration for non-compliant MSBs, more criminal record checks, and better visibility into MSB business activity.

Canada’s government said Canadians should still be able to buy virtual currencies from brick-and-mortar money services businesses, making the proposed policy specific to crypto ATMs rather than all in-person crypto purchases. FINTRAC has also increased scrutiny of crypto businesses, with public records showing a $176.9 million penalty against Xeltox Enterprises Ltd., also known as Cryptomus, over thousands of alleged compliance violations; the company appealed the penalty.

Canada is developing its first whole-of-government National Anti-Fraud Strategy after launching a public consultation on March 30. The consultation seeks feedback on a Multi-Sector Anti-Fraud Framework covering banks, telecommunications providers, digital platforms, public awareness, and law-enforcement support. A separate crypto policy measure would bar crypto-denominated political donations at the federal level.

Canada’s move carries historical weight because the country hosted the first Bitcoin ATM in a Vancouver, British Columbia coffee shop in 2013. The current proposal treats the machines as a structural weak point in retail crypto access after years of wider adoption.

AIMCo Adds Bitcoin-Linked Exposure Through Strategy

Alberta Investment Management Corporation disclosed a $219 million purchase of 1.38 million Strategy Inc. shares, marking its first Bitcoin-linked allocation through MSTR rather than direct Bitcoin custody. AIMCo manages Alberta’s pension plans, endowments, and the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, and is described as Canada’s $195 billion provincial fund.

The disclosure places AIMCo alongside other Canadian institutions with MSTR exposure. The institutional pattern points to Canadian investors using Strategy equity as a Bitcoin proxy, likely because regulated holders face heavier compliance and accounting friction around direct Bitcoin custody.

MicroStrategy held 818,334 BTC at an average cost near $75,532 per coin, while continuing to issue common stock and high-yield preferred shares to finance further Bitcoin purchases. Critics argue that ongoing share dilution can erode per-share Bitcoin exposure, while Strategy’s financing model adds corporate leverage risk that direct Bitcoin or spot ETFs would not carry.

Public-fund concerns center on mandate fit because some U.S. state pension positions in MSTR have shown paper losses above 60% during downturns. AIMCo has not publicly explained the rationale for the MSTR purchase, and the next quarterly 13F filing is expected to clarify whether the manager increases the position or treats it as a tactical entry.