How does bitcoinatm.news calculate operator trust scores?

Trust scores start at 100 points and receive deductions for regulatory enforcement actions: -30 for cease and desist orders, -25 for pending government lawsuits, -15 for pending litigations, -10 for investigations and NMLS adverse actions, -40 for fraud/Ponzi allegations, and -25 for danger-level warnings. Bonuses are awarded for longevity (+2 per year, max 10) and clean compliance records (+5). Scores map to letter grades: A+ (90-100), A (80-89), B (70-79), C (60-69), D (50-59), F (0-49).

Where does bitcoinatm.news get its enforcement data?

Enforcement data comes from primary sources: state attorney general press releases, court filings from PACER and state court systems, SEC EDGAR filings, NMLS Consumer Access records, state financial regulator databases (e.g., California DFPI), and published consent orders. Every enforcement action cited in our articles links to or references the original filing.

How often are Bitcoin ATM trust scores updated?

Trust scores are recalculated whenever new enforcement data is added to our database. We monitor state AG announcements, federal court dockets, and regulatory filings continuously. Operator pages are regenerated after each data update. A full quarterly audit verifies all scores against current regulatory records.

How does bitcoinatm.news collect fee data for Bitcoin ATMs?

Fee data comes from crowdsourced user reports submitted through individual ATM pages. Reports require the operator name, fee percentage, transaction type (buy/sell), and amount range. A minimum of 3 verified reports is required before displaying a specific average fee. Reports with fewer than 3 entries show 'Varies' instead of a specific percentage.

Methodology: How We Rate Bitcoin ATM Operators

Trust Score System

Every Bitcoin ATM operator tracked by bitcoinatm.news receives a trust score from 0 to 100, displayed as a letter grade (A+ through F). The score is computed algorithmically from publicly verifiable regulatory data. No operator can pay to influence their score.

The bottom line: operators with clean regulatory records score A+. Operators facing lawsuits, investigations, or enforcement actions receive deductions proportional to the severity of each action.

How Scores Are Calculated

Every operator starts at 100 points. Deductions are applied for each regulatory action, weighted by severity:

Factor	Penalty	Example
Cease & Desist order (pending)	-30 each	Bitstop: Nebraska C&D (Dec 2025)
Pending government lawsuit (AG consumer protection suit)	-25 each	Bitcoin Depot: MA, IA, DC lawsuits
Pending litigation (civil)	-15 each	Bitstop: Chicago Atlantic $16.96M suit
Pending investigation (CID)	-10 each	Missouri AG CIDs (Jan 2026)
Consumer fraud/scam complaints	-10 each	Documented fraud complaint patterns
NMLS adverse actions	-10 each	State-level licensing enforcement
Fraud / Ponzi scheme allegations	-40	Bitstop: Heller Ponzi connection
Danger-level warning	-25	Operators with critical regulatory risk

Bonuses are awarded for positive signals:

Factor	Bonus	Condition
Years operating	+2/year (max +10)	Based on founding year
Clean compliance record	+5	Registered MSB/NMLS with zero enforcement actions

Grade Thresholds

Grade	Score Range	Tier
A+	90–100	Excellent
A	80–89	Excellent
B	70–79	Good
C	60–69	Good
D	50–59	Fair
F	0–49	Poor

Transparency note: The trust score algorithm is open and deterministic. Given the same regulatory data inputs, anyone can reproduce the score. The algorithm source code is version-controlled and auditable. No operator has been given advance notice of score changes.

Data Sources

All regulatory and enforcement data referenced in trust scores and editorial articles comes from primary, publicly verifiable sources:

State Attorney General Offices Press releases, complaint filings, and consent orders from MA, IA, MO, DC, ME, CA, NE, and other state AGs
Federal Court Records (PACER) Civil complaints, motions, orders, and settlement agreements in federal litigation
SEC EDGAR 10-Q/10-K filings, 8-K disclosures, and proxy statements for publicly traded operators (Bitcoin Depot: BTM, Athena Bitcoin: ABIT)
NMLS Consumer Access Money transmitter licensing records and adverse actions at nmlsconsumeraccess.org
State Financial Regulators California DFPI enforcement actions, state banking department orders, and licensing databases
State Court Systems State-level civil complaints, motions, and orders (e.g., Suffolk Superior Court, Polk County District Court)

Source documents for articles are archived in our internal document repository. Every enforcement action cited in our reporting links to or references the original filing.

ATM Location Data

Bitcoin ATM location data is aggregated from multiple sources and reconciled daily:

Primary source: CoinATMRadar database (industry-standard ATM directory)
Corroborating source: Google Maps via OutScraper API (biweekly scrape)
Operator-reported data: Operators with API access can report locations directly

Each ATM location page displays the operator name, address, hardware type, and status. ATM status is tracked as online, offline, removed, or unverified. Daily sync detects new installations and deinstallations automatically.

The site currently tracks 10,000+ individual ATM locations across all 50 states, each with its own page optimized for local search.

Fee Reporting

Fee data is crowdsourced from user reports. This system exists because most Bitcoin ATM operators do not publicly disclose their fee schedules.

Users report the fee percentage observed during a transaction, along with operator, transaction type, and amount range
A minimum of 3 verified reports is required before displaying a specific average fee for an operator
Operators with 1-2 reports show "Varies" instead of a specific percentage
Reports are rate-limited (5 per 24 hours per IP) and subject to moderation
Fee data is displayed on both individual ATM pages and operator comparison tables

Limitation: Crowdsourced fee data reflects user-reported observations, not official operator schedules. Fees may vary by location, transaction size, and time. We display fee data as approximate averages, not guarantees.

Editorial Standards

All editorial articles published on bitcoinatm.news follow these standards:

Primary source requirement: Every enforcement, legal, or financial claim must reference a specific court filing, regulatory order, or SEC disclosure
Automated fact-checking: Articles pass through a multi-stage fact-check pipeline that cross-references claims against our operator database and external sources
No operator payment for coverage: Editorial coverage is independent of any advertising or partnership relationship. Featured operators receive no favorable editorial treatment
Hedging for unverified claims: Insider tips and unverified allegations are clearly labeled with verification badges and use attribution language ("claims," "alleges," "according to")
Corrections: If an article contains a factual error, it is corrected promptly. Material corrections are noted at the top of the article

Update Frequency

Trust Scores Recalculated on each data update. Quarterly full audit against regulatory records.

ATM Locations Daily sync from primary source. Biweekly Google Maps corroboration.

Enforcement Data Continuous monitoring. New actions added within 48 hours of public filing.

Fee Reports User-submitted in real time. Displayed after moderation and 3-report threshold.

Citing This Data

Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference bitcoinatm.news data with attribution. Suggested citation format:

Trust scores: "Source: bitcoinatm.news Trust Score System (methodology: bitcoinatm.news/methodology)"

Enforcement data: "According to bitcoinatm.news, which tracks enforcement actions from primary court filings and regulatory orders"

Fee data: "bitcoinatm.news crowdsourced fee reports (N user-reported observations)"

For data inquiries or corrections, contact the editorial team via the information on our consumer protection page.