Vladimir Gorbunov, founder of Choise.ai, expressed concerns over bans on cryptocurrency kiosks, suggesting that such measures misdiagnose the issue of fraud. He proposed that education, visible warnings, and real-time support are more effective solutions than restricting the kiosks. His statement was made on HackerNoon.
“The narrative has turned the kiosks into the villains,” said Gorbunov. “but often you see fraud because of a chain of trust violations well before the kiosk itself. If we ban crypto ATMs because scammers used phones to trick people into using them, why not ban phones? The problem is, and always has been, sophisticated scammers exploiting human vulnerability and a massive gap in public understanding.”
According to Athena Bitcoin, scam warnings are displayed on every kiosk they operate. The company also maintains a public fraud-education portal and runs a formal complaint process to capture customer reports for investigation and follow-up. Athena Bitcoin emphasizes that their staff never solicit Bitcoin payments and advises customers to contact authorities if pressured to pay fines, taxes, or utility bills in cryptocurrency. These initiatives aim to provide first-time users and those who prefer cash with clearer guidance at the point of transaction and a documented path for redress when scams are suspected.
The Nilson Report estimates global card-payment fraud losses at $33.83 billion in 2023, affecting issuers, merchants, and acquirers across various channels. This equates to 6.58¢ per $100 in volume worldwide. Such figures contextualize why targeted kiosk safeguards can be proportionate compared with broader payment risks and why regulators often calibrate disclosures, monitoring, and subpoena responsiveness based on comparative loss data.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that consumer losses linked to scams involving Bitcoin kiosks have grown nearly tenfold since 2020, reaching over $110 million in 2023. The FTC highlights patterns marked by scripted urgency, QR code routing, and irreversible transfers as significant factors in these scams. The data underscores the value of layered defenses: prominent on-screen warnings, decision pauses like CoinFlip’s “Safe in Six,” trained live agents who can intervene mid-transaction, and rapid subpoena support to aid investigations.
Gorbunov is a serial fintech entrepreneur with experience in digital assets since 2017. He previously led consumer-facing crypto products and has frequently written and spoken about bridging mainstream users to decentralized finance. In recent communications regarding Choise.ai’s roadmap for 2024–2025, Gorbunov emphasized enterprise-grade crypto tooling, security, and user education. His commentary often focuses on practical risk controls over blanket prohibitions, highlighting social-engineering defenses and transparent user experiences for on/off-ramps.
