Digital Currency Transmission Laws State-by-State

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Defines and addresses “crowdfunding”and “virtual coins” within the context of the sale of securities.

HB 2602:Signed by Governor on 4/12/2018; effective 8/3/2018.

Key Impact: Prohibits cities and towns from restricting running a node on blockchain technology.

SB 1413: Effective as of 8/5/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

HB 2253: Effective 7/31/2017.

Key Impact: This bill regulates the fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Establishes an Office of Digital Innovation within the Government Operations Agency.

AB 147: Signed by Governor on 4/25/2019; effective 4/25/2019.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

Assembly Bill No. 129: Repealed Cal. Corp. Code § 107 as of 1/1/2015.

Key Impact: Repealed Cal. Corp. Code § 107, which prohibited issuing or circulating as money anything but lawful money of the United States.

Bill Number SB 843: Amended Cal. Pen. Code § 320.6, effective as of 6/27/2016.

Key Impact: A raffle ticket cannot be sold in exchange for Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency.

Assembly Bill 691: Effective as of 1/1/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

SB 88: Effective as of 7/1/2020.

Key Impact: Establishes a Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, which includes virtual currencies under its definition of “property.”

SB 88: Effective as of 8/10/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Defines “virtual currency” and requires a money transmitter license for anyone transmitting monetary value in the form of virtual currency.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-596; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-597

HB 5606: Effective as of 10/1/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

HB 7141, codified at Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-603: Effective as of 10/1/2017.

Key Impact: Amends the permissible investment requirements for those engaging in the transmission of digital currency by requiring that they hold at all times digital currency “of the same type and amount owed or obligated to such other person.”

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Establishes the Florida Blockchain Task Force within the Department of Financial Services.

HB 1379: Signed by Governor on 6/23/2017; effective as of 7/1/2017.

Key Impact: Defines “virtual currency”for purposes of Florida’s Money Laundering Act and expands the Act to prohibit laundering virtual currency. Virtual currency is defined as “a medium of exchange in electronic or digital format that is not a coin or currency of the United States or any other country.”

SB 494: Effective as of 7/1/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: This bill regulates the fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

HB 811, codified at Ga. Code § 7-1-680 to Ga. Code § 7-1-698: Effective 7/1/2016.

Key Impact: Defines “virtual currency” and requires a money transmitter license for anyone engaged in the business of receiving monetary value for transmission or transmitting monetary value within the United States or to locations abroad by any and all means, including, but not limited to, an order, wire, facsimile, or electronic transfer. Under the amended law, “virtual currency” will be defined as a “digital representation of monetary value.”

The Department of Banking and Finance is authorized to enact rules and regulations covering money transmission involving digital currency. Ga. Code § 7-1-690

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

SB 1303: Effective as of 7/1/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Would define“virtual currency” as a digital representation of value used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value, which does not have legal tender status recognized by the United States.

HB 2540: Passed on 8/9/2019; effective as of 6/1/2019.

Key Impact: Creates the Blockchain Business Development Act. Provides for the creation and regulation of personal information protection companies. Provides for the creation and regulation of blockchain-based limited liability companies as businesses that utilize blockchain technology for a material portion of their business activities.

SB 1413: Effective as of 8/12/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: urges the creation of a committee to study the enactment of the Uniform Regulation of Virtual Currency Businesses Act or other virtual currency regulation.

SB 253: Effective as of 7/1/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Would have required holders of abandoned virtual currency to liquidate it and remit the proceeds to the administrator within 90 days of filing a report, and denied the owner of the currency any recourse against the holder or administrator to recover it.

HB 354: Signed by the Governor on 3/26/2019, effective as of 3/26/2019.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace provider”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

Key Impact: Requests that the Office of Financial Institutions study the licensure and regulation of virtual currency businesses.

SB 461: Effective as of 8/1/2014.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

HB 701: Signed by governor 6/13/2020; effective 8/1/2020

Key Impact: Would provide for the licensing and regulation of virtual currency businesses.

Key Impact: This bill regulates the fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

HB 1634: Effective as of 10/1/2018.

Key Impact: Establishes that the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission shall study cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges and other blockchain technologies and include regulatory recommendations in its 2018 report.

HB 507: Effective as of 10/1/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

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Key Impact: Added to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator” and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

Key Impact: Add a definition for “cryptocurrency” under the Michigan Penal Code’s definition of money instrument.

HB 6253: Passed 12/5/2018; effective as of 12/5/2018.

Key Impact: Amends the Michigan Penal Code by defining “cryptocurrency” and including it in the definition of “money or personal property” in the section defining the crime of embezzlement.

HB 6254: Passed 12/5/2018; effective as of 12/5/2018.

Key Impact: Amends the Michigan Penal Code by defining “cryptocurrency” and including it in the definition of “monetary instrument” in the sections defining crimes involving money laundering and receiving proceeds of crime.

HB 6258: Passed 12/5/2018; effective as of 12/5/2018.

Key Impact: Amends the Michigan Penal Code by defining “cryptocurrency” and “distributed ledger technology” and adding their use to the definition of “financial transaction device” for crimes involving credit cards.

HB 5034: Effective as of 6/27/2015.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: exempts utility tokens from the Securities Act of Montana.

SB 118: Effective as of 10/1/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator” and a provision that includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

LB 829: Effective as of 1/1/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Defines “virtual currency” as a digital representation of value that is created, issued and maintained on a public blockchain, is not attached to any tangible asset or fiat currency, is accepted as a means of payment, and may only be transferred, stored or traded electronically.

SB 44: Approved by Governor on 6/7/2019; effective as of 7/1/2019.

Key Impact: Would revise Nevada’s Uniform Unclaimed Property Act to reflect changes adopted by the Uniform Law Commission in the 2016 Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act and include virtual currency under its definition of property.

AB 15: Approved by Governor on 6/3/2019; effective as of 7/1/2019.

Key Impact: Revises the Nevada Revised Statutes definition of “money instrument”to include “virtual currency.”

AB 445: Approved by Governor on 6/12/2019; effective (in part)as of 7/1/2019.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

AB 239: Effective as of 10/1/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Bill exempts persons selling, issuing or receiving digital currency from money transmitter licensing requirements.

NH – HB 356, codified at N.H. Rev. Stat. § 399-G:25: Effective as of 6/6/2016.

Key Impact: Establishes a commission to study cryptocurrency regulation.

NH –HB666, codified at N.H. Rev. Stat. § 399-G:1 to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 399-G:24.

Key Impact: Defines “convertible virtual currency” and requires a money transmitter license for anyone receiving monetary value, including convertible digital currency, for transmission to another location.

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 399-G:1; N.H. Rev. Stat. § 399-G:2

Key Impact: Added providers of virtual currencies to the definition of “marketplace facilitator” for the purposes of the sales and use tax.

AB 3433: Approved on 9/13/2017; effective as of 12/12/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Money transmitter license is required for the transmission of digital currency. “Money transmission”includes receiving money or monetary value for transmission. “Monetary value” is defined as “a medium of exchange, whether or not redeemable in money.” The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department’s Financial Institutions Division has informed Bloomberg BNA that HB 250 imposes licensing requirements for the transmission of digital currency.

SB 60: Effective as of 1/1/2018.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Delaying the report of the Digital Currency Task Force for one year.

S 1194 & A 1914: Signed by governor 8/29/2019

Key Impact: Amends the task force established by A 8783 to increase its number from 9 to 13 members, and increase the number of members appointed by the governor from 3 to 7.

S 1194:Passed on 8/29/2019; effective immediately.

Key Impact: Amends task force established by A 8783 to increase its number from 9 to 13 members, and increase the number of members appointed by the governor from 3 to 7.

A 8783:Effective as of 12/21/2018.

Key Impact: Establishes a digital currency task force to provide the governor and legislature with information on the effects of the widespread use of digital currencies in the state.

23 NYCRR 200.1 to 23 NYCRR 200.22: Effective as of 6/24/2015.

Key Impact: Defines “virtual currency” and creates a new license for virtual currency businesses. A license is required to engage in “Virtual Currency Business Activity,” which is defined in 23 NYCRR 200.2(q). See Application Forms For License to Engage in Virtual Currency Business Activity.

23 NYCRR 200.3; 23 NYCRR 200.2(q)

AB 9910: Effective as of 9/29/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

NC Money Transmitters Act (House Bill 289): Codified at N.C. Gen. Stat. § 53-208.41 to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 53-208.64, effective as of 10/1/2016.

Key Impact: Defines “virtual currency” and requires a money transmitter license for anyone engaged in the business of money transmission, which includes maintaining control of virtual currency on behalf of others.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 53-208.42(12), (20); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 53-208.43; see also N.C. Gen. Stat. § 53-208.44(8) (noting an exemption for certain virtual currency transactions)

SB 805: Codified at N.C. Gen. Stat. § 36F-1 to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 36F-18, effective as of 6/30/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Calls for a study of the potential benefits for distributed ledger technology and blockchain for state government.

SB 2338:Signed by Governor on 3/26/2019; effective as of 7/1/2019.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

HB 1214: Effective as of 8/1/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

As of 11/26/2018, the Ohio Treasurer launched OhioCrypto.com, which allows businesses to pay taxes with cryptocurrency.

HB 432: Effective as of 4/6/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Prohibits the state government from accepting payments using cryptocurrency, and prohibits candidates for public office from accepting campaign contributions using cryptocurrency.

Senate Bill 277, codified at Or. Rev. Stat. § 717.200 to Or. Rev. Stat. § 717.320, Or. Rev. Stat. § 717.900, and Or. Rev. Stat. § 717.905: Effective as of 5/20/2015.

Key Impact: Defines “money”and requires a money transmitter license when conducting a money transmission business, which includes receiving digital currency for transmission or transmitting digital currency within the United States or to locations abroad by any and all means.

Or. Rev. Stat. § 717.205; Or. Rev. Stat. § 717.200(10), (11).

SB 1554: Effective as of 1/1/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Includes “maintaining control of virtual currency or transactions in virtual currency on behalf of others” in the definition of “currency transmission”and define “virtual currency.”

H 5847: Signed by Governor on 7/15/2019; effective as of 1/1/2020.

Key Impact: Defines “virtual currency” and requires a money transmitter license for anyone engaged in the business of money transmission, which includes maintaining control of virtual currency on behalf of others.

H 5443: Signed by Governor on 6/21/2019; effective as of 6/21/2019.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

H 5151:Signed by Governor on 7/5/2019; effective as of 7/1/2019.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

S 251 & H 5278: Signed by Governor on 3/29/2019; effective as of 3/29/2019.

Key Impact: Add to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: A candidate or political campaign committee is allowed to accept digital currency as a contribution. Digital currency shall be considered a monetary contribution with the value of the digital currency being the market value of the digital currency at the time the contribution is received.

Tenn. Code § 2-10-113; Tenn. Code § 2-10-102(4)

SB 326: Effective as of 7/1/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Amends the Texas Penal Code by adding “digital currency” to the definition of funds in the chapter defining the crime of money laundering.

SB 64: Passed on 6/7/2019; effective as of 9/1/2019.

Key Impact: Each state agency and local government shall, in the administration of the agency or local government, consider using next generation technologies, including cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence.

SB 1193: Effective as of 9/1/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

SB 168: Signed by Governor on 4/1/2019; effective as of 10/1/2019.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

SB 70: Signed by Governor on 3/21/2019; effective as of 5/20/2019.

Key Impact: Amends the unclaimed property provisions of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act to consider virtual currency to be property.

SB 213: Effective as of 5/13/2019.

Key Impact: defines “blockchain”or “blockchain technology” as an electronic method of storing data that is maintained by consensus of multiple unaffiliated parties, distributed across multiple locations, and mathematically verified. Also specifies that “money transmission” does not include a blockchain token.

HB 13: Effective as of 5/9/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

SB 111: Signed by governor 3/30/2020 & SB 114: Signed by governor 3/31/2020

Key Impact: Adds “marketplace facilitator” and “virtual currency” language to list of definitions in sales tax act.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

S. 154: Signed by Governor on 5/13/2019; effective as of 7/1/2019.

Key impact: Defines “Virtual Currency” as prepaid access that (a) can be a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value, (b) has an equivalent value in money or acts as a substitute for money, (c) may be centralized or decentralized, and (d) can be exchanged for money or other convertible virtual currency.

S 269, Act 205: Signed by Governor on 5/30/2018; effective as of 7/1/2018.

Key Impact: Creates the Blockchain-Based Limited Liability Company and the Personal Information Protection Company as new types of entities under Vermont Law. For additional analysis of the law, see the Blockchain State Corporation and Contract Law Tracker.

H 182: Signed by Governor on 5/4/2017; most sections effective as of 5/4/2017 (secs. 13, 24 and 25 effective as of 7/1/2017).

Key Impact: Defines “virtual currency”in state money transmitter law as “stored value that (A) can be a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value; (B)has an equivalent value in money or acts as a substitute for money;(C) may be centralized or decentralized; and (D) can be exchanged for money or other convertible virtual currency.” Vermont has already indicated that it regulates the transmission of digital currency through its money transmitter laws. The law also allows money transmitters to use “virtual currency owned by the licensee” as a “permissible investment,” “but only to the extent of outstanding transmission obligations received by the licensee in identical denomination of virtual currency.”

HB 152: Effective as of 7/1/2017.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

H. 550: signed by governor 4/29/20; takes effect 1/1/2021

Key impact: Updates Vermont law pertaining to unclaimed property and include virtual currency under its definition of property.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace facilitator”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

HB 1722: Signed by Governor on 3/26/2019; effective as of 7/1/2019.

SB 1083: Signed by Governor on 3/26/2019; effective as of 7/1/2019.

HB 1608: Signed by Governor on 2/17/2017; effective as of July 1, 2017. This bill is identical to SB 903.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital property, including digital currency.

Key Impact: Digital currency transmission is included in the definition of money transmission, but the bill exempts uses of blockchain when the digital currency at issue is not used as a medium of exchange.

SB 5029: Codified at Wash. Rev. Code § 11.120.010 to Wash. Rev. Code § 11.120.901, effective as of 6/9/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

HB 2585: Approved by Governor on 4/26/2017; Effective as of July 7, 2017.

Key Impact: Includes digital currency within the definition of “monetary instrument”for the purposes of the state’s criminal money laundering statutes.

Key Impact: Adds to the state sales and use tax laws a definition of “marketplace provider”and a provision that it includes a person providing virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to purchase products from a marketplace seller.

AB 695: Codified at Wis. Stat. § 711.01 to Wis. Stat. § 711.16, effective as of 4/1/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.

HB 74:Signed by Governor on 2/26/2019; effective as of 10/1/2019.

Key Impact: Authorizes chartering of special purpose depository banks for blockchain companies.

SF 125:

Key Impact: Authorizes security interests in digital assets, and establishes an opt-in framework for banks to provide custodial services for digital asset property as directed custodians. Also provides the courts of Wyoming with jurisdiction to hear claims relating to digital assets.

HB 62:

Key Impact: Establishes that open blockchain tokens with specified characteristics are intangible personal property and not subject to a securities exemption. Also requires developers and sellers of open blockchain tokens to file notices of intent and fees with the secretary of state.

HB 19: Amends Wyo. Stat. § 40-22-102 and Wyo. Stat. § 40-22-104; signed by Governor on 3/7/2018.

Key Impact: Amends the Wyoming Money Transmitter Act to provide an exemption for digital currency transmission.

SB 111: Signed by Governor on 3/12/2018.

Key Impact: Exempts digital currencies from property taxation.

HB 70: Amends Wyo. Stat. § 17-4-206, Wyo. Stat. § 17-4-102, Wyo. Stat. § 40-22-104 and Wyo. Stat. § 40-22-126;signed by Governor on 3/12/2018.

Key Impact: Amends the Wyoming Money Transmitter Act to provide an exemption for a person who develops, sells or facilitates the exchange of an open blockchain token; also amends the Wyoming Uniform Securities Act re same.

SF 34: Codified at Wyo. Stat. § 2-3-1001 to Wyo. Stat. § 2-3-1017, effective as of 7/1/2016.

Key Impact: Regulates fiduciary management of digital assets, including digital currency.