Alaska officials are urging residents who lost money through Bitcoin Depot crypto kiosks to act before a court deadline tied to the company’s bankruptcy case. According to the Alaska Department of Law, people who were deceived into using the machines have until July 21, 2026, to seek a share of Bitcoin Depot Operating LLC’s bankruptcy estate.

Bankruptcy deadline for victims

The notice follows Bitcoin Depot Operating LLC’s bankruptcy filing in the Southern District of Texas. State officials said Alaskans who believe they were harmed should confirm whether they qualify to file a claim before the deadline expires.

The company operated cash-to-crypto kiosks in Alaska and across the United States. The machines functioned similarly to bank ATMs in appearance, but instead of dispensing cash, they converted deposited money into cryptocurrency and sent it to a wallet address entered by the user.

How the scams worked

Authorities said scammers took advantage of that setup by directing victims to send funds through the kiosks. In reported schemes, fraudsters posed as police officers, government agencies, or recognizable businesses and pressured people to deposit cash into a machine and send the cryptocurrency to wallets controlled by the scammers.

Once the transfer was completed and cleared, the funds were described as extremely difficult to recover. The Alaska Department of Law reiterated that legitimate government agencies do not ask people to make payments through crypto kiosks and said residents should independently verify any such demand before sending money.

Push for tighter state oversight

The bankruptcy notice has also been tied to a broader push in Alaska for stricter rules on crypto-kiosk operators. State Senator Cathy Tilton pointed to the case while advocating for stronger consumer protections, including licensing requirements, identity verification measures, and other safeguards for companies running the machines in the state.

Her comments come as concerns about crypto-ATM fraud have driven wider scrutiny of the sector. Regulators in the United States have increased enforcement attention on the machines, and some states have moved to ban them outright.

Broader fraud concerns

The Alaska notice arrives against a backdrop of large reported losses linked to crypto-ATM scams nationwide. The source article said those losses have reached hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. That wider pattern has made Bitcoin Depot Operating LLC’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructuring especially sensitive for victims trying to recover at least part of what they lost.

For now, Alaska’s message is procedural as much as cautionary: residents who were tricked into using Bitcoin Depot kiosks may have a limited window to pursue claims through the bankruptcy process, while policymakers continue debating tougher controls on the crypto-kiosk business.

Source: Cryptopolitan