Bitcoin Depot files for Chapter 11 and shuts 9,000 kiosks

Bitcoin Depot, once the largest operator of Bitcoin ATMs in North America, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and suspended its entire global network of over 9,000 kiosks. The Atlanta-based company, which is publicly traded on Nasdaq, filed the voluntary petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The move initiates a court-supervised process to wind down operations and sell the company's assets.

The company's financial collapse was rapid and severe. Preliminary first-quarter results show revenue fell by 49.2% year-over-year, while the company swung from a $12.2 million net profit to a $9.5 million net loss. Gross profit plummeted 85% to $4.5 million. In a statement, CEO Alex Holmes said the company's current business model had become unsustainable, citing a significantly changed regulatory landscape. He stated that states have imposed increasingly stringent compliance obligations, including new transaction limits and, in some jurisdictions, outright restrictions or bans on Bitcoin ATM operations.

Multiple financial and operational pressures converged on the company in recent months. In March, Connecticut's Department of Banking...