The Bitcoin ATM operator comes under scrutiny from authorities for alleged deceptive business practices and undisclosed fees.
The Attorney General of the District of Columbia, Brian Schwalb, has filed a lawsuit against Athena Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency ATM operator, accusing the company of imposing hidden fees on deposits and failing to implement adequate anti-fraud protections. According to the complaint, 93% of deposits made through Athena’s machines in the first five months of operation were directly linked to online scams.
The filing alleges that Athena Bitcoin was aware of the fraudulent use of its machines but chose to ignore it in order to continue collecting transaction fees.
Court documents submitted by the Attorney General’s office state that Athena Bitcoin charged hidden fees of up to 26% per transaction, without clearly disclosing them to users during the process. The company used the term “Transaction Service Margin” in its Terms of Service, deliberately avoiding the word “fee.”
In its first five months of operations in Washington (May–September 2024), Athena allegedly collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in hidden fees from scam victims, many of them elderly and vulnerable. The average age of victims was 71, with a median loss of $8,000 per transaction.
One documented case in the lawsuit involves a Washington resident who lost $98,000 through a scam facilitated by an Athena machine. The company’s no-refund policy prevents victims from recovering both the scam-related losses and the illegally applied hidden fees.
The Attorney General’s office described Athena’s oversight as “ineffective,” creating an “unmonitored channel for illicit international fraudulent transactions.” The company is accused of enabling and profiting from transactions in which victims were coerced and manipulated into depositing their savings under false pretenses.
The lawsuit against Athena Bitcoin is part of a broader crackdown on crypto ATMs by regulators. The FBI recorded nearly 11,000 fraud complaints linked to such machines in 2024, totaling more than $246 million in losses. At least 13 U.S. states, including Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan, have introduced transaction limits to curb the potential impact of ATM-related fraud.
Currently, 26,850 crypto ATMs are operating in the United States, according to CoinATMRadar. Bitcoin Depot holds the largest market share with 27.6% of machines, followed by CoinFlip and Athena with 13.6% and 13% respectively.
