{"AmendmentNumber":"285","ParentBillNumber":"H5562","Bill":null,"Sponsor":{"Id":"TMS1","Name":"Thomas M. Stanley","Type":1,"Details":"https://malegislature.gov/api/GeneralCourts/194/LegislativeMembers/TMS1","ResponseDate":"2026-07-06T14:29:29.41"},"Category":null,"Action":"Consolidated","RollCall":[],"Title":"SCAM Act","Branch":"House","RedraftNumber":null,"IsFurther":false,"GeneralCourtNumber":194,"Text":"Representatives Stanley of Waltham and Lipper-Garabedian of Melrose move to amend the bill by adding the following section:\r\n\"SECTION XXXX. The General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 167J the following chapter:-\r\nChapter 167K Regulation of Virtual Currency Kiosks \r\nSection 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:\r\n“Person”, an individual, firm, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, trust or association, however formed, or a club, trustee, agency or receiver.\r\n“Virtual currency,” a digital representation of value that:  (1) is used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value; and (2) is not money, whether or not denominated in money; and (3) does not include: a transaction in which a merchant grants, as part of an affinity or rewards program, value that cannot be taken from or exchanged with the merchant for money, bank credit, or virtual currency; or  (4) a digital representation of value issued by or on behalf of a publisher and used solely within an online game, game platform, or family of games sold by the same publisher or offered on the same game platform.  \r\n“Cashier-facilitated transaction” is a method of exchanging virtual currency for funds, or funds for virtual currency, in which payment is collected in-person at a retail location by a cashier, clerk, or other person acting as an agent, intermediary, or processor for the transaction, regardless of whether the virtual currency transfer is initiated through a kiosk, pointofsale system, mobile application, webbased platform, or remote service.\r\n\"Virtual currency kiosk\", an electronic terminal acting as a mechanical agent of the virtual currency kiosk operator to enable the virtual currency kiosk operator to facilitate the exchange of virtual currency for money, bank credit, or other virtual currency, including but not limited to by (1) connecting directly to a separate “virtual currency exchange\" that performs the actual virtual currency transmission, or (2) drawing upon the virtual currency in the possession of the electronic terminal's operator. \r\n“Virtual-currency kiosk operator\", a person or entity that engages in virtual-currency business activity via a money transmission kiosk or via a located in the commonwealth or a person or entity that owns, operates, or manages a money transmission kiosk located in the commonwealth through which virtual-currency business activity is offered or the owner or lessee of a premises who knowingly allows a kiosk to be operated on said premises.\r\nSection 2. (a) a virtual currency kiosk operator may not operate a virtual currency kiosk in the commonwealth of Massachusetts.\r\n(b) A person or property owner may not, directly or indirectly, facilitate the purchase or transfer of cryptocurrency in exchange for fiat currency through a retail point-of-sale system, cashier-facilitated transaction, or other mechanism that is designed to replicate or substitute for a virtual currency kiosk.  \r\n(c) A virtual currency kiosk operator may not operate, install, or maintain a virtual currency kiosk that also functions as, or is marketed as, an automated teller machine, cash dispenser, or cash withdrawal terminal. \r\n(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit a financial institution to host, operate, or facilitate a virtual currency kiosk or cashier-facilitated virtual currency transactions on behalf of, or in partnership with, a third party operator.\r\nSection 3. (a) A violation of Section 2 of this act is deemed to be in violation of section 2 of Chapter 93A of the general laws.\r\n(b) If a court finds that a person has knowingly or intentionally operated one (1) or more virtual currency kiosks in the Commonwealth in violation of this chapter, the court may, in addition to any other penalty imposed under Chapter 93A, order the following:\r\n(1) That the person forfeit the amount of any charges that were collected by the person from users of the virtual currency kiosks or kiosks during the period in which the person operated the virtual currency kiosk of kiosks in violation of this chapter.\r\n(2) That the person forfeit any virtual currency kiosk that is owned by the person and located in the commonwealth.\r\n(3) That the person pay to the attorney general all costs associated with the investigation of the violation.\r\nSection 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.\r\n"}