ADVERTISEMENT

German Regulator Shuts Down Operator of Crypto-Currency ATMs

German Regulator Shuts Down Operator of Crypto-Currency ATMs

(Bloomberg) --

Germany’s financial regulator has shut down the local operations of a company that allows consumers to buy and sell crypto-currencies at ATMs.

BaFin ordered Adam Gramowski, the managing director of KKT UG, to immediately cease business in Germany because he doesn’t have the necessary authorization for cross-border proprietary trading. The order was issued on Feb. 26 and published on Wednesday.

Gramowski runs a website and has ATMs across Germany, according to BaFin. His Linkedin page describes him as CEO of Bitcoin Technologies in Torun, Poland, a position he also holds at several companies in Poland and Israel, according to his profile. The page says he has an education in mathematics and physics from the University of Warsaw.

The operators of the website didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at the website’s offices in Torun, Poland, said they would pass on contact details.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt at ncomfort1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Christian Baumgaertel, Marion Dakers

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.