Indiana (IN): Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

Summary

In 2026 Indiana passed one of the most pro-bitcoin laws and one of the most anti-kiosk laws in the country, two weeks apart:

• HEA 1042 (bitcoin-friendly):
• Only the DFI may restrict paying with digital assets, self-custody (self-hosted or hardware wallets), running nodes, developing software, transferring or staking.
• No discriminatory taxes or fees.
• Localities may not prohibit mining businesses (zoning still applies).
• INPRS must offer a self-directed brokerage account with at least one cryptocurrency option by 2027-07-01.
• HEA 1116 (anti-kiosk): bans crypto kiosks entirely. The Attorney General enforces it under the deceptive-practices law, with possible forfeiture of fees and seizure of machines. Property owners who knowingly host a kiosk can also be liable (law-firm summary).

Indiana's money-transmission law does not reach pure virtual-currency transmission.

1. Money-transmitter licensing and virtual currency

• IC 28-8-4.1 (MTMA), effective 2024-01-01. DFI "MTMA Licensing Guidance" (PDF, saved): "Virtual Currency. Indiana did not adopt the virtual currency portion of the MTMA and did not include the transmission of virtual currency in its regulation. However, if the entity's business model includes the transmission of fiat currency, the entity may be engaged in licensable money transmission activity."
• HEA 1042 amends IC 28-8-4.1-201: "money transmission" "does not include development or use of software for noncustodial transfer of digital assets" (enrolled text, saved).

2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes and guidance

HEA 1042 (2026), "Regulation and investment of cryptocurrency", P.L. 49-2026. Signed 2026-03-03 (Orrick InfoBytes, 2026-03-13); most sections effective 2026-07-01 (enrolled text, saved):

• Definitions:
• New IC 2-3.5-2-2.8, "Cryptocurrency": a virtual currency "not issued by a central authority", designed as a medium of exchange, using encryption.
• New IC 5-36-1: "digital asset" (including payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act definition), "digital asset mining business" (more than 1 MW average), "stake", "node" and others.
• IC 5-36-2 (state agencies): no public agency other than the DFI may:
• restrict using or accepting digital assets for payment, or self-custody "using a self-hosted wallet or hardware wallet";
• impose taxes or fees on those that do not apply to "comparable financial transactions that do not involve digital assets";
• restrict running a node, developing software, transferring digital assets or staking;
• prohibit a digital-asset mining business, though zoning rules may be enforced (IC 36-7-4).
• New IC 36-1-30.5 (local governments): parallel limits on cities and counties. They cannot ban nodes, development, transfers or staking, and there are limits on mining moratoria.
• Pensions: by 2027-07-01, defined-contribution plans (for example the annuity savings accounts under IC 5-10.2) must offer "a self directed brokerage account that offers at least one (1) cryptocurrency investment option". Boards may set limits and rules.
• Coverage: CoinDesk said Indiana "joins at least seven other states, including Wyoming, Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona" moving crypto into public investment frameworks (CoinDesk, 2026-02-26).

3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law

HEA 1116 (2026), "Virtual currency kiosks", P.L. 143-2026. Effective upon passage. Signed 2026-03-09.

• Text (enrolled, saved): new IC 28-8-7, "Virtual Currency Kiosks":
• § 8: "A person may not operate a virtual currency kiosk in Indiana."
• § 9: a violation "commits a deceptive act that is actionable by the attorney general under IC 24-5-0.5".
• A kiosk violation is added to the deceptive-acts list in IC 24-5-0.5-3(b)(44).
• "Operator" covers anyone who owns, or is in the business of operating, a kiosk, whether custodial or noncustodial.
• Remedies (Duane Morris summary, secondary): on a knowing or intentional violation, courts may order forfeiture of all fees collected, seizure of kiosks, and payment of the AG's investigative costs. Liability can extend to property owners who knowingly permit a kiosk (Duane Morris Government Strategies).
• History:
• The bill started as a licensing and limits bill.
• Operators testified that the requirements would push them out. Law enforcement, including the Evansville Police Department, and AARP pressed for a ban, and the legislature rewrote it as a ban.
• Rep. Wendy McNamara built on an Evansville city ordinance.
• Gov. Mike Braun ceremonially signed it on 2026-04-29 (WFIE 14 News).
• AARP: Indiana "became the first state to ban the machines from operating anywhere within its borders ... signed into law on March 9" (AARP).

4. Tax treatment

• HEA 1042 bars public agencies other than the DFI from imposing taxes or fees on digital-asset payments or self-custody that do not apply to comparable non-digital transactions.
• Indiana income tax starts from federal AGI (DOR crypto guidance not retrieved).

5. Notable enforcement

• None retrieved (gap). The AG now has authority to enforce the kiosk ban.
• Evansville residents lost about $400,000 to kiosk scams in 2025 (CoinDesk citing local police).

6. Bills, 2026 session

The 2026 short session ended in early March.

Pending: none. The 2027 session begins in January 2027.

7. Contested and fringe claims

• "Crypto rights" versus "crypto ban". Advocacy outlets (Invezz, The Block, Hokanews) celebrated HEA 1042 as a "bitcoin rights bill". Consumer advocates celebrated HEA 1116. Industry, such as kiosk operators, argues the ban removes a legal service for cash users; supporters say kiosks are primarily scam conduits. Indiana did both, which shows that "pro-bitcoin" and "anti-kiosk" positions are not opposites in practice.
• Pension crypto. CoinDesk notes the original pension bill was weakened in committee (Indiana Capital Chronicle headline; article blocked). Critics of crypto in pensions cite volatility; supporters cite member choice.
• Template spreading. crypto.news suggests the Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota bans show "a template propagating between statehouses" (crypto.news). That is commentary.

Saved sources (sources/states/in/)

See sources/states/in/INDEX.md.

Gaps

• iga.in.gov served only a JavaScript shell to automated requests. The enrolled acts were obtained from a public S3 mirror of the official IGA PDFs (billtexts.s3.amazonaws.com), with the original IGA URLs noted in the index. We did not verify bill status pages on iga.in.gov directly; signing dates come from AARP, Orrick and Duane Morris.
• DOR tax guidance.
• HB 1217's final status.