Bitcoin ATM Daily Limits

The short answer

In California, a Bitcoin ATM cannot accept or dispense more than $1,000 from or to one customer in a day. It is a legal ceiling, not an operator setting, so no kiosk in the state can raise it for you and driving to a different brand will not help.

Outside California the picture varies. Some states set their own thresholds, and where none applies the limit comes from the operator's compliance program and the identity checks you have completed. COINworKs operates 97 kiosks in California and others across 14 states in total, so the limit you meet depends on where the machine is.

Where the California number comes from

The Digital Financial Assets Law, passed as AB 39 in 2023, created a dedicated chapter for kiosks in the state's Financial Code. Three parts of it change what happens at the machine:

• The daily cap, in force since January 1, 2024: $1,000 per customer per day, covering both what a kiosk takes in and what it pays out.
• A fee cap, since January 1, 2025: an operator cannot charge more than the greater of $5 or 15% of the value traded, measured against a licensed exchange price.
• Disclosure and receipt rules: terms in writing before you confirm, and a receipt showing the fee collected and the spread against a licensed exchange price.

The cap was written as a fraud control. Kiosks had become a common way for victims of phone and romance scams to move several thousand dollars at a time, irreversibly, while someone stayed on the line with them. A daily ceiling does not stop that conversation, but it caps what a single day of it can cost.

How the limit is actually counted

• Per person, not per machine. Four $250 purchases across four kiosks belonging to one operator reach the ceiling exactly as one $1,000 purchase does.
• Per day, not per visit. Morning and evening transactions add together.
• Tied to your identity, not your phone. Operators are required to identify customers across their own kiosks, so a second phone number does not create a second allowance.
• Both directions. Where a machine can buy as well as sell, the cap covers the cash it pays out too.

What to do when you need more

The honest answer is that a kiosk is the wrong tool above $1,000, and returning three days running to complete one purchase is worse than the alternatives.

• An over-the-counter desk, if the amount is substantial and you want it priced as one trade. See Buy Crypto.
• A staffed counter, if you are holding cash and want a person to handle it. The kiosk cap does not apply to a licensed business serving you in person. Our counters trade as The Bitcoin Store in San Jose and Stockton, up to $50,000 in cash per customer per day with a government photo ID.
• An online exchange, if the money is already in a bank account and you are comfortable doing it yourself.

For a fuller explanation of the California rules, including how to read the spread line on a kiosk receipt, see the guide to California's kiosk rules.

Questions people ask

How much can you take out of a Bitcoin ATM in a day?

In California, $1,000 per customer per day. That figure is set by state law rather than by the operator, so it is the same at every kiosk in the state. Other states set their own rules, and where none applies the limit comes from the operator's own compliance program.

Why is the Bitcoin ATM limit $1,000 in California?

California's Digital Financial Assets Law, passed as AB 39 in 2023, caps what a kiosk may accept from or dispense to one customer in a day at $1,000. It took effect on January 1, 2024 and was written as a fraud control, because kiosks had become a common way for victims of phone scams to move large amounts of cash quickly and irreversibly.

Can I use two Bitcoin ATMs to get around the daily limit?

Not with the same operator. The cap is per customer per day, not per machine, and operators are required to identify customers across their own kiosks so the daily total is enforced. Deliberately splitting a purchase to defeat a limit is also the pattern anti-money-laundering programs are designed to flag.

Does the daily limit apply when selling Bitcoin?

In California, yes. The statute covers what a kiosk may accept and what it may dispense, so a two-way machine cannot pay out more than $1,000 to one customer in a day either. Most kiosks in California are buy-only in any case.

When does the daily limit reset?

At the start of the next day. It is a rolling daily count against your identity rather than against a machine, so a purchase in the morning and another in the evening add up to the same day's total.

How do I buy more than $1,000 of Bitcoin with cash?

Use a staffed counter or an over-the-counter desk. The kiosk cap applies to unattended machines, not to a licensed business serving you in person. The staffed counters trading as The Bitcoin Store in San Jose and Stockton, California handle up to $50,000 in cash per customer per day with a government photo ID.