🇺🇸 United States
No single federal crypto licence — a fragmented state money-transmitter patchwork plus FinCEN MSB registration, now overlaid by the newly-signed GENIUS Act and the still-pending CLARITY Act.
Data verified: oldest cell 1 day ago (verified 2026-07-02). Individual cells show their own verification date below.
Licence type
No single federal crypto licence. Fragmented dual-layer regime: (a) State-level Money Transmitter Licence (MTL), required in 49 states (all except Montana) plus DC, applied for via NMLS (Nationwide Multistate Licensing System) under each state's money transmission statute (31 states have adopted the Money Transmission Modernization Act, MTMA, in full or part as of Feb 2026); (b) Federal FinCEN Money Services Business (MSB) registration under the Bank Secrecy Act, via FinCEN Form 107, required for any business acting as a money transmitter/administrator/exchanger of convertible virtual currency. Some states have specific regimes (e.g., NY BitLicense from NYDFS, 23 NYCRR Part 200) as an alternative/superseding requirement.
Regulator
No single federal crypto regulator. Federally, FinCEN (US Treasury) handles MSB registration and BSA/AML oversight. At the state level, each state's banking/financial-services department (e.g., NYDFS in New York, DFPI in California) issues and supervises money transmitter licences via NMLS. The SEC and CFTC separately assert jurisdiction over certain crypto activities (securities/commodities) — the allocation of that jurisdiction is the subject of the pending CLARITY Act.
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MiCA CASPs approved 🔒
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Recent changes
GENIUS Act (stablecoin regulation): PASSED and SIGNED INTO LAW — House passed 17 July 2025, signed by the President 18 July 2025. Establishes a federal framework for 'payment stablecoins': permitted issuers must be a subsidiary of an insured depository institution, a federally-qualified nonbank issuer, or a state-qualified issuer; mandates 100% reserve backing in liquid assets with monthly public disclosures, no rehypothecation (limited exceptions), explicit BSA/AML obligations, a ban on deceptive marketing claims, and mandatory technical capability to freeze/seize/burn stablecoins under lawful order. Effective date: earlier of 18 months after enactment (~18 Jan 2027) or 120 days after final implementing rules; as of mid-2026 OCC/Treasury/FinCEN have issued proposed rulemakings (e.g., OCC Bulletin 2026-3) but final rules were not yet confirmed. CLARITY Act (market structure, SEC/CFTC jurisdiction split): STILL PENDING as of early July 2026 — passed the House 17 July 2025 (294-134); Senate Banking Committee advanced its version 14 May 2026; a revised Senate Banking text was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar (Calendar No. 423) 1 June 2026. Still requires reconciliation with the Senate Agriculture Committee's parallel bill, a 60-vote Senate floor vote, House-Senate reconciliation, and presidential signature. Commentary (June 2026) suggests a tight legislative calendar makes passage in this session uncertain.
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