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Coinme

Washington Temporarily Halted Coinme’s Money Transfers Over Alleged Voucher and Reporting Violations

Washington’s DFI temporarily ordered Coinme to stop new money-transmission business after alleging it treated more than $8 million in unredeemed voucher amounts as income and violated other rules. A December 23 consent order stayed the shutdown but did not resolve the charges.

By TheFinanceBase Team 6 min read
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Washington did not permanently ban Coinme. The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) issued a Temporary Order to Cease and Desist on November 25, 2025, after alleging that the crypto-kiosk company treated more than $8 million in unredeemed voucher amounts as income and violated other money-services rules. DFI announced the action on December 1. A December 23 consent order stayed the temporary shutdown, allowing Coinme to resume Washington money-transmission activity under safeguards while the underlying charges remained unresolved.

What happened, in brief

  • DFI’s temporary order barred Coinme from conducting new money-transmitter business for Washington customers without approval.
  • The regulator alleged that Coinme recorded unredeemed cryptocurrency-voucher amounts as company income, failed to meet certain financial and reporting requirements, and gave some customers receipts with an inactive support number.
  • The order required customer-asset protection, potential restitution, records, reports, controls, training and cooperation with the investigation.
  • The December 23 consent order stayed the temporary order and permitted operations to resume, but expressly did not decide the Statement of Charges.

The primary documents are DFI’s Temporary Order to Cease and Desist, the December consent order and DFI’s public announcement.

What Coinme does and why Washington regulates it

Coinme operates cash-to-cryptocurrency kiosks and related digital-account services. A customer can deposit cash at a kiosk, receive a paper voucher representing the transaction, and redeem it through Coinme’s website or mobile application. That activity falls within Washington’s money-services regulatory framework, the Uniform Money Services Act in Chapter 19.230 RCW.

Washington lists Coinme, Inc., based in Seattle and identified by NMLS No. 1185542, in its enforcement records. The action was a Washington state proceeding, not a federal case or a nationwide shutdown.

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The central dispute: unredeemed vouchers

How the voucher process worked

  1. A customer bought virtual currency at a Coinme kiosk.
  2. The kiosk produced a paper voucher.
  3. The customer redeemed the voucher through Coinme’s website or app.
  4. Some vouchers were not redeemed promptly.
  5. DFI alleged that Coinme later recorded the amounts associated with those vouchers as income.

What DFI alleged

According to the temporary order, Coinme’s accounting included $2,201,254 at year-end 2023 and $6,170,822 at year-end 2024 as income from unredeemed vouchers. Together, those examples total about $8.37 million. The order says the figures included Washington and non-Washington customers, so they cannot be described as $8.37 million owed only to Washington residents.

DFI alleged that Coinme did not adequately disclose the time customers had to redeem vouchers, when unredeemed amounts could be recognized as company income, or how remaining customer property would be handled. The regulator treated the issue as a customer-property and money-transmission matter, including possible unclaimed-property obligations, rather than merely an internal accounting choice.

Coinme’s position

Coinme disputed the allegations. In comments reported by GeekWire, the company characterized the matter as an accounting dispute involving a discontinued voucher product, said its treatment followed professional guidance, and said customers could still redeem vouchers or request dollar refunds. The company also objected to the regulatory process and sought an administrative hearing.

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Those competing positions are not a final ruling. The cited DFI orders establish allegations and interim requirements, not a finding that every voucher amount was permanently lost or that Coinme committed fraud.

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Other violations DFI alleged

The temporary order describes additional alleged violations from approximately 2020 through 2025:

  • Tangible net worth: DFI said Coinme had negative tangible net worth at the ends of 2022, 2023 and 2024, even after accounting for the alleged voucher income. That allegation does not by itself establish insolvency or prove that customer funds were unavailable.
  • Permissible-investment records: The regulator alleged Coinme did not always maintain records supporting compliance with requirements governing assets backing customer obligations.
  • Reporting: DFI alleged that required information was not reported on time and that some reports filed with the agency were inaccurate.
  • Customer receipts: Receipts issued approximately June 10 through October 23, 2024, allegedly listed an inactive support telephone number.

For a licensed money transmitter, these controls help regulators verify that customer obligations are backed, records are reliable and customers can obtain support. The legal status of each allegation remains part of the pending administrative case.

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What the November 25 temporary order required

A Temporary Order to Cease and Desist is an emergency administrative measure intended to stop alleged conduct while a regulatory case proceeds. DFI’s order required Coinme to:

  • Stop conducting new money-transmitter business for Washington customers unless DFI authorized it.
  • Stop violating Washington’s Uniform Money Services Act.
  • Stop treating Washington customers’ unredeemed vouchers as “breakage” income.
  • Hold assets owed to Washington customers in secure, segregated accounts.
  • Pay restitution to Washington customers with unredeemed vouchers, as required by the order and later process.
  • Provide DFI with a customer list and evidence of restitution and escheatment.
  • Submit historical permissible-investment reports.
  • Implement compliance controls, policies and training.
  • Cooperate with DFI’s investigation and provide requested records.

The initial operational restriction did not necessarily make all Coinme assets inaccessible. The order addressed new Washington money-transmission business while allowing existing customers to withdraw assets under its terms.

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What penalties DFI sought

DFI’s announcement and Statement of Charges indicated that the agency sought or contemplated:

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Proposed consequence Status in the cited record
Restitution to affected Washington customers Proposed or required as part of the regulatory action; final customer-level amounts are not established in the cited materials.
Monetary fine Sought or contemplated in the charges; no final amount is identified in the cited materials.
Revocation of Coinme’s Washington money-transmitter license Proposed in the charges; the enforcement listing does not show a final revocation order in the cited record.
Ten-year industry prohibition for CEO and co-founder Neil Bergquist Proposed for Washington money-transmitter and currency-exchange industries; not shown as a final adjudicated penalty in the cited materials.
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Why the December 23 consent order changed the immediate outcome

On December 23, 2025, DFI and Coinme entered a consent order that stayed the temporary cease-and-desist order. That meant Coinme could resume money transmission in Washington, subject to the agreement and continuing compliance duties.

The consent order required safeguards for Washington customer assets, including segregation of assets deposited at Washington kiosks but not redeemed. It also required Coinme to cease violations of the Uniform Money Services Act.

Most importantly, the consent order says it did not resolve the Statement of Charges. Coinme did not waive its claims, defenses or arguments, and the underlying factual and legal allegations remained subject to further proceedings, litigation or appeal. A consent order addressing an interim shutdown is therefore not the same as a final finding that all alleged violations occurred.

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Is Coinme still operating in Washington?

Based on the December 23 consent order, the temporary prohibition was stayed and Coinme was allowed to resume Washington operations under the agreement. Readers should not treat the December 1 announcement as the company’s permanent status. DFI’s enforcement index lists a Statement of Charges dated November 25, 2025, and a Coinme consent order dated December 23, 2025, but the cited materials do not establish a later final adjudication resolving the charges.

What affected customers should do

Preserve transaction evidence

  • Keep kiosk receipts, voucher numbers, transaction IDs, emails, app records and screenshots.
  • Record the date, kiosk location, amount and cryptocurrency involved if those details are available.

Use current official channels

Check Coinme’s current account and support channels to determine whether a voucher remains redeemable or whether a refund process applies. Do not rely on the inactive telephone number alleged in the DFI order.

Avoid refund scams

Do not send money, cryptocurrency, passwords or recovery phrases to anyone claiming to be a regulator or offering to “unlock” a refund. Government agencies and legitimate support personnel should not require an upfront payment to release customer funds.

Contact Washington DFI for regulatory information

Customers with unresolved complaints can consult DFI’s Consumer Services Division and the agency’s official enforcement materials. DFI states that it does not provide financial or legal advice. Anyone considering an individual claim should consult a qualified lawyer.

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No cited order guarantees that every customer is automatically entitled to a particular payment. Eligibility and amounts depend on the operative requirements, Coinme’s remediation process and any later final order.

What remains unresolved

  • Whether DFI will obtain a final license revocation, fine or restitution order.
  • How many Washington customers were affected.
  • What portion of the cited voucher-income figures related to Washington residents.
  • How much, if any, was ultimately returned to customers or transferred through escheatment.
  • Whether a later final order or appeal will resolve the Statement of Charges.

The available record supports a precise conclusion: Washington temporarily stopped Coinme from conducting new money-transmission business after alleging voucher, financial-condition, reporting and customer-support violations; the state later stayed that shutdown under a consent order with asset safeguards; and the underlying allegations were not finally decided by that consent order.

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