Сrypto is legal in the US, but its regulation is still uncertain. According to the information we have, every regulator in the US currently has its crypto policy. Arguably, the most famous regulator in the world is The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (16) and its chairman, Gary Gensler. The SEC's current position is that any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin is a security.
Most legal bodies in the US still define crypto as property/commodity. Still, the SEC tries to interpret more and more cryptocurrencies as securities as it did in the case of Coinbase and Binance lawsuits. There are several regulatory bodies on the federal level, including:
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) (17) is responsible for licensing VASPs and AML regulations. It treats cryptocurrency as money.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (18) is responsible for derivatives; cryptocurrency is a commodity.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (19) regulates the taxation of digital assets and qualifies them as property;
Other regulators include the Department of Justice (DOJ) (20), The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (21), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) (22), and others.
In 2013, the American financial intelligence unit - FINCEN allowed virtual currency exchange and concluded (23) that the company needs to have a money transmitter license for this activity. This was the first licensing requirement for cryptocurrency transactions in the United States.
An administrator or exchanger that accepts and transmits a convertible virtual
currency or buys or sells convertible virtual currency for any reason is a money transmitter under FinCEN’s regulations, unless a limitation to or exemption from the definition applies to the person.
FinCEN’s regulations define the term “money transmitter” as a person that
provides money transmission services, or any other person engaged in the transfer of funds. The term “money transmission services” means “the acceptance of currency, funds, or other value that substitutes for currency from one person and the transmission of currency, funds, or other value that substitutes for currency to another location or person by any means.”
Quote from FINCEN notice (2013)
The main requirement for most crypto entities in the country in 2023 is still to get FinCEN registration. Here is a guide about MSB FINCEN registration (24) and the IRS MSB registration guide (25).
Shortly, any crypto entity needs to get MSB registration and a local state Money Transmitter License (MTL) where it operates. If an entity has 5+ licenses, it can join the Multistate MSB Licensing Agreement Program (MLAP) and automatically get licenses in other states. According to Sia Partners review (26), this heat map shows MTL license requirements in March of 2020.
In this register (27) from FINCEN, you may check the status of MSB/MTL licensed entities.
You may see below the spreadsheet with different types of licenses. Derivatives are regulated by the CFTC and securities - SEC.
| tag | Type of license (federal) |
| #cryptotocrypto | Money Transmitter license on the state level and MSB registration on the federal |
| #cryptotofiat | Money Transmitter license on the state level and MSB registration on the federal |
| #wallet/custodian | Money Transmitter license on the state level and MSB registration on the federal |
| #cryptofund | SEC registration |
| #DAO | Local permits from the states of Delaware, Arizona |
| #Tokensale of securities/ICO | SEC registration |
Local crypto regulations in the US are complicated since they differ in each state. In this basic version, we haven’t provided a detailed overview. However, you may check these guides by ProeliumLaw (28) and Sia Partners (29).
