Tennessee's Cryptocurrency ATM Ban Upheld Amid Constitutional Challenge

A US federal court has allowed Tennessee's ban on cryptocurrency ATMs to remain in effect while a constitutional challenge proceeds. The court ruled that the public interest outweighed the economic harm claimed by CoinFlip and Private IT Corporation, which had sought emergency relief.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti defended the law, saying 'Cryptocurrency ATMs are tools for scammers targeting vulnerable Tennesseans and are rarely used for anything approaching a legitimate purpose.'

The court acknowledged that the businesses could face economic harm but found that the public interest in enforcing legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly outweighed those concerns.

CoinFlip operates over 5,500 Bitcoin ATMs across 48 US states and several countries, while Private IT Corporation joined the lawsuit after arguing the ban threatened its Tennessee operations.