Bitcoin Depot faces $18.5m arbitration, dual lawsuits over ATM drama

Bitcoin Depot Inc. is confronting legal and financial challenges after its Canadian subsidiary received an $18.47 million arbitration award related to allegations that defective hardware and software affected thousands of Cash Cloud-operated Bitcoin ATMs.

Summary

• Bitcoin Depot faces an $18.47 million arbitration award after its BitAccess subsidiary was found liable for defective hardware and software.
• The company plans to challenge the award while simultaneously fighting a parallel U.S. bankruptcy lawsuit.
• The legal setbacks arrive amid mixed financial performance, with Bitcoin Depot reporting higher year-over-year revenue and profit but sharp quarter-to-quarter declines.

The award, according to a regulatory filing disclosed on November 24, was issued by a tribunal under the Canadian Arbitration Association following hearings held between December 2024 and October 2025. The dispute centers on BitAccess Inc., a Canada-based operating system and hardware provider that Bitcoin Depot acquired in 2021.

Cash Cloud, which operated more than 5,700 Bitcoin ATMs under the Coin Cloud brand before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, alleged that defects in BitAccess-supplied equipment rendered large portions of its fleet inoperable and caused financial losses, according to court documents.

The arbitration proceedings began in August 2022 after Cash Cloud accused BitAccess of breaching a 2020 Master Purchase Agreement. Arbitrators concluded that Cash Cloud had proven the damages it sought, issuing the full $18.47 million claim as the final award, the filing stated.

Bitcoin Depot said BitAccess intends to challenge the ruling and is seeking to have it set aside. The company acknowledged in the filing that it “cannot predict with any degree of certainty” the outcome of such efforts.

Arbitration awards function as enforceable judgments unless successfully challenged, typically on jurisdictional grounds or procedural irregularities. Bitcoin Depot did not indicate whether it will comply if the award stands, stating only that it plans to “vigorously defend” the matter.

The Atlanta-based company also faces a parallel lawsuit in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada. Cash Cloud filed the companion case in 2023, arguing that specific claims fall outside the Canadian tribunal’s jurisdiction and alleging additional derivative damages from the same contract, according to court filings.

The Nevada case seeks the same $18.47 million, potentially exposing Bitcoin Depot to duplicate liability if the disputes are not consolidated or limited.

Bitcoin Depot contends the U.S. case overlaps substantially with the arbitration and believes developments in Canada may limit or eliminate the bankruptcy litigation. The company said it will continue to defend the U.S. action, calling it “without merit,” according to the filing.

Cash Cloud collapses, Bitcoin Depot posts mixed financial results

Cash Cloud listed more than $153.9 million in liabilities. In bankruptcy proceedings, the company cited the disputed BitAccess equipment, a failed software agreement, a hack, and alleged misconduct by a former executive as factors in its collapse, according to court documents.

The legal developments come as Bitcoin Depot ends a rough year with mixed financial results. The company posted $162.5 million in third-quarter revenue, a 20% year-over-year increase, while net income rose 139% to $5.5 million compared to the same period in the prior year, according to financial statements.

However, both metrics declined from the previous quarter, with revenue falling approximately 6% from the second quarter and net income dropping roughly 55%, the statements showed. Earnings per share totaled $0.08, down from $0.16 in the prior quarter.

Bitcoin Depot operates more than 9,000 ATMs across the U.S., Canada, and Australia, according to company information.

Arbitration disputes have occurred in the cryptocurrency industry. Payward, the operator of Kraken, has faced post-award legal challenges, with courts in some instances refusing enforcement on public policy grounds. In one case cited in the filing, Payward’s arbitration award against a UK consumer was denied enforcement by an English court over concerns it would hinder the customer’s ability to pursue potential financial-regulatory claims.