【Canada Prepares to Remove 4,000 TWD Circle ATMs, Is This Protection or Restriction?】

On April 28, the Canadian federal government announced: plans to legislate a complete ban on cryptocurrency ATMs, citing that "these machines have become the main withdrawal tool for scammers."
First, let's discuss why Canada is making this decision.
CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) conducted a series of in-depth investigations, documenting numerous scam methods, mainly involving victims being manipulated by phone scams. The scammers would instruct them to go to street ATMs to exchange money for Bitcoin, then transfer the funds within minutes, leaving no trace.
Why is it so hard to track?
These ATMs have no staff on site, and for deposits under 1,000 CAD, even identity verification isn't required. Once the transaction is confirmed, it’s almost impossible to reverse. Faster than bank transfers, harder to trace than cash.
By 2025, Canadians are expected to lose over 700 million CAD to scams, roughly 16 billion TWD.
Since 2022, the total losses have exceeded 2.4 billion CAD.
Therefore, the Canadian government says: too many issues with these ATMs, so they will shut them down directly.
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Regarding this, I want to share my personal opinion…
If we follow this logic, shouldn’t LINE also be deleted?
Every year, countless scam cases in Taiwan are carried out via LINE—from fake customer service, fake investment groups, fake winning notifications—all happening on LINE.
So, should we ban LINE?
Based on observations, the ways different governments handle crypto scam prevention are as follows:
▍First, outright ban (Canada’s choice)
The fastest, most immediate solution, but the cost is punishing normal users as well.
In Canada’s crypto ATMs, there are many legitimate exchange needs, but these channels are also eliminated. Essentially, it’s an acknowledgment of inability to regulate, so they choose to eliminate directly.
▍Second, regulate and then allow (Taiwan and Hong Kong’s approach)
Taiwan passed the "Virtual Asset Service Provider Management Act" in 2024, requiring registration, verification, and compliance for operators; Hong Kong issued its first licenses to stablecoin issuers in April 2026.
The logic is: the tool itself isn’t the problem; the issue lies in who uses it and how. Establish rules to prevent bad actors from entering while allowing good users to continue. Essentially, accepting the existence of the technology and managing user behavior.
▍Third, regulatory gaps (early stages in various regions of the crypto world)
No regulations, no protections, scams rampant, and no legitimate channels. Ordinary people can only go underground, with no safeguards. The core idea is: because of lack of understanding, they pretend it doesn’t exist.
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Honestly, I think Canada’s ban this time isn’t on cryptocurrencies themselves. They’re banning "an unmonitored exchange site."
Because Canada hasn’t banned citizens from buying Bitcoin; you can still exchange at regulated financial institutions.
This shows that Canada’s judgment is: the problem isn’t "Bitcoin itself is dangerous," but "unmonitored sites are inherently a scam hotbed."
This is completely different from saying "the crypto world is a scam."
⚠️ This is just my personal experience sharing and does not constitute any investment advice.