Core Points - Washington state regulators have ordered Coinme to cease operations and repay over $8 million in unclaimed customer funds, accusing the company of misclassifying unredeemed vouchers as income and violating money-transmission regulations [1][5] - Coinme allegedly claimed $8.37 million in unredeemed customer vouchers as income between January 2023 and December 2024, with $2.2 million from Washington customers at the end of 2023 and $6.17 million from both Washington and non-Washington customers at the end of 2024 [2] - The company sold crypto through paper vouchers that users purchased at kiosks, but many users did not redeem them, leading Coinme to treat these funds as its own income without proper disclosure [3] Regulatory Actions - Coinme has 20 days to request a hearing; if not, the cease-and-desist order will become permanent [4] - The order mandates Coinme to stop serving Washington customers, segregate customer assets, and pay restitution based on user payments or the crypto's value at the time of the order [5] - The Department of Financial Institutions intends to revoke Coinme's money transmitter license and impose a fine of $300,000 along with a $375 investigation fee [5] Leadership Implications - The charges also target Neil Bergquist, co-founder and CEO of Coinme, seeking to prohibit him and the company from participating in any money transmitter business for ten years [6] - Coinme's Chief Compliance and Consumer Protection Officer stated that the firm was unaware of the DFI's concerns until the announcement [6]