The Courier Workaround—How Scammers Outsmarted Bitcoin ATM Limits
BitAML Podcast
How Bitcoin ATM Limits Accidentally Sparked a New Crime Trend When California capped crypto ATM transactions at $1,000 a day, the goal was clear: stop scammers from draining victims' life savings overnight. Nebraska, Iowa, and other states quickly followed suit. The new regulations made headlines and were hailed as a win for consumer protection. But behind the scenes, something troubling started to unfold. Instead of giving up, scammers adapted. Now, we’re seeing a dramatic rise in courier-based fraud schemes. Victims, often seniors, are being manipulated into emptying their bank accounts,...
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The Hidden Remittance Tax: 3.5% Withholding on Funds Sent Abroad
BitAML Podcast
At the heart of the controversy is a 3.5% excise tax on all cross-border remittance transfers from non-U.S. citizens. That’s right—if you’re on an H-1B visa, a green card, or another non-citizen status, and you send money overseas (to family, to invest, whatever), this bill proposes your provider (e.g., crypto exchange, traditional remittance app) withhold 3.5% of that transfer as tax. Originally set at 5%, the rate was walked back after pushback from diaspora communities and advocacy groups. Still, 3.5% is significant. It comes on top of existing fees, which means money sent back home...
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Crypto Seizures and the Fight for Fairness—Protecting Victims Without Undermining Rights
BitAML Podcast
The Crypto Seizure Conundrum of Balancing Justice AND Property Rights Crypto scams are no longer fringe news—they’re a front-page reality. As criminals become more sophisticated, lawmakers are scrambling to respond. One emerging trend? A renewed push for the seizure of cryptocurrency assets before conviction. That’s right—under certain bills currently proposed, law enforcement may soon have broader authority to seize crypto assets linked to suspected fraud or exploitation. But with great power comes great risk. These proposed laws walk a tightrope between rightfully protecting victims...
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HODL the Pepperoni! How One Man Torched a Fortune to Prove Bitcoin Worked
BitAML Podcast
Bitcoin Pizza Day is a Slice of Crypto History That Still Has Lessons to Teach From Pizza to Protocols—Why May 22nd Still Matters in Crypto Every community has its origin story. For the crypto crowd, it comes with pepperoni and extra cheese. May 22nd, 2010 marks the day Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida-based programmer and early Bitcoin contributor, made the first-ever real-world purchase using Bitcoin. The now-infamous trade? 10,000 BTC for two large pizzas. At the time, worth about $41. Today? That same amount of Bitcoin would fetch you over $680 million—and maybe your own private island (or...
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Bitcoin ATM Day 2025: The Machines That Changed Finance—and the Laws Catching Up
BitAML Podcast
Bitcoin ATMs are at a crossroads—celebrating innovation while navigating regulatory headwinds. And it all began one breezy Thursday afternoon at an unassuming coffee shop in Downtown Vancouver, where history was quietly made. That’s when the world’s first Bitcoin ATM quietly went live—on October 29, 2013. Installed inside Waves Coffee House, this single machine would kick off a decade-long journey that brought crypto kiosks into gas stations, grocery stores, and corner bodegas across the globe. Today, May 2nd, we celebrate Bitcoin ATM Day, not just to reflect on that moment of quiet...
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The Rise of RegTech in Crypto
BitAML Podcast
Compliance just got an upgrade you’ll want to pay attention to. In the wild early days of crypto, compliance often felt like an afterthought—something you dealt with after building your platform, launching your token, or getting that first round of funding. Today, the stakes are higher, the rules sharper, and regulators far more interested. If crypto is going mainstream, it’s not going to happen without help. Enter RegTech.
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Unmasking Romance Scams to Protect Hearts and Wallets
BitAML Podcast
From scams to safeguards, and wallets to digital intimacy, we take a deep dive into romance scams in the crypto age. The average victim of a romance scam loses $10,000. This is a significant amount of money, and it can be devastating for victims, especially if they are elderly or on a fixed income. The projected losses due to romance scams in 2023 are expected to total $1.3 billion, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This is a significant increase from the estimated losses of $1 billion in 2022. The FTC attributes the increase to the growing popularity of online dating and...
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Dueling Stablecoin Bills, Competing Visions and One Crypto Reality
BitAML Podcast
If stablecoins are the bridge between crypto and traditional finance, Congress just dropped a blueprint for how that bridge might be rebuilt. Two competing bills, the GENIUS Act in the Senate and the STABLE Act in the House, have entered the ring. While both aim to regulate stablecoins, they differ in approach and, more importantly, in who comes out ahead. Crypto businesses, exchanges, and compliance pros should be paying close attention. But here’s the twist: while all eyes are on D.C., the quiet realignment may already be underway in California. Let’s break down what’s happening, who...
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Bitcoin’s Billion-Dollar Day—Why It Mattered Then (and Still Does)
BitAML Podcast
The Day Bitcoin Became a Bonafide Unicorn 12 years ago today Bitcoin broke through an important milestone On March 28, 2013, Bitcoin quietly crossed a major symbolic threshold, reaching a market capitalization of $1 billion. It wasn’t shouted from the rooftops. In fact, the actual number might’ve hovered just below that line. But in crypto, even rounding errors can be historic. It was a moment of validation for a technology that had been dismissed (often gleefully) as nerd money or internet funny-money. Instead, Bitcoin had just earned a seat at the “unicorn” table,a title usually...
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Biggest Wins for Crypto in 2024
BitAML Podcast
After years of regulatory uncertainty, skepticism, and fluctuating markets, 2024 has emerged as a defining moment for the cryptocurrency industry. With major regulatory advancements, institutional investments at an all-time high, and innovative breakthroughs in blockchain technology, the sector is entering a new era of mainstream adoption and financial legitimacy. Rather than simply listing milestones, this article explores how these wins are shaping the future of crypto, setting the stage for an industry that is more stable, widely accepted, and primed for long-term growth.
info_outlineCompliance just got an upgrade you’ll want to pay attention to.
In the wild early days of crypto, compliance often felt like an afterthought—something you dealt with after building your platform, launching your token, or getting that first round of funding. Today, the stakes are higher, the rules sharper, and regulators far more interested. If crypto is going mainstream, it’s not going to happen without help. Enter RegTech.