Virginia — Bitcoin and virtual-currency law
Document text
Research, not advice. Part of the Bitcoin research archive (October 2026). Claims labelled unverified, contested or fringe are reported, not endorsed; statuses of bills and rules are as of the date checked. Government, court and patent records are public domain; the research notes are CC BY 4.0.
Virginia — Bitcoin and virtual-currency law
- Jurisdiction: Commonwealth of Virginia (US)
- Date checked: 2026-10-09 (all statuses below were checked on this date unless another date is given)
- Regulator: State Corporation Commission (SCC), Bureau of Financial Institutions (BFI)
- Governor: Abigail Spanberger (took office January 2026; signed 2026 crypto bills); predecessor Glenn Youngkin (vetoed 2025 DAO bill)
- Legislature: 2026 Regular Session ended March 2026 (reconvened April 2026); next session January 2027.
- Saved primary sources:
sources/states/va/(seesources/states/va/INDEX.md)
At a glance
| Topic | Virginia position | Key cite | Status (checked 2026-10-09) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money-transmitter licence for Bitcoin | No — by statute. In the Money Transmitters chapter, "'money' does not include virtual currency"; BFI: "does not currently regulate virtual currencies," but transactions that also move fiat may be regulated | Va. Code ch. 6.2-19.1 (§ 6.2-1922 et seq.); BFI notice | In force [S1][S2] |
| Model law | Virginia Money Transmitters Act (MTMA) — HB 1942 (2025), effective 2026-07-01; no virtual-currency title | CSBS | In force [S1][S5][S6] |
| Crypto ATMs / kiosks | New licence for "virtual currency kiosk operators" from the SCC; $2,000 per transaction (new users), $5,000 (existing), $10,000 per month; charges capped at 18%; fee refund for fraud reported within 90 days with documentation within 120 days; $25,000 bond; ID; BSA/AML and blockchain analytics; may not call kiosks "ATMs"; up to $1,000 per violation plus Virginia Consumer Protection Act remedies; localities may be stricter | HB 665 / SB 489 (2026) | Enacted April 2026 (HB 665 reported enacted 2026-04-13); effective 2027-07-01; applications from 2027-03-01 [S3][N1] |
| Unclaimed digital assets | Digital-asset accounts presumed abandoned after 5 years; must be held in kind for at least one year before any sale | HB 798 (2026) | Signed 2026-04-15; effective 2026-07-01 [N2] |
| Bank custody | Banks may provide virtual-currency custody | HB 263 (2022) (general knowledge; unverified) | — |
| DAOs | 2025 HB 1796 DAO framework vetoed; 2026 HB 293 failed; SB 782 carried over | — | [S4] |
| Bitcoin reserve | SB 557 (2026) Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Fund — failed; HB 1121 (2026) public-fund investment in crypto ETPs — failed | — | [S4] |
| Tax | No Virginia Department of Taxation crypto guidance found (gap) | — | — |
1. Money-transmitter licensing of virtual currency
- Va. Code Title 6.2, Chapter 19.1 "Money Transmitters" (full chapter saved; § 6.2-1922 et seq., as rewritten by the MTMA). Definitions: "Monetary value" means "a medium of exchange, whether or not redeemable in money"; "Money" means government-authorized currency "… Notwithstanding the foregoing, 'money' does not include virtual currency"; "Money transmission" means selling payment instruments or stored value, or "receiving money for transmission"; "Virtual currency" is a digital representation of value used as a medium of exchange, unit of account or store of value that is "not money." [S1]
- SCC Bureau of Financial Institutions, "Notice to Residents Regarding Virtual Currency" (saved): "The Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions ('Bureau') does not currently regulate virtual currencies; however, to the extent virtual currency transactions also involve the transfer of fiat currency … they may be regulated under Chapter 19.1 … § 6.2-1922, et seq." [S2]
- MTMA: HB 343 (2024) carried over; HB 1942 (2025) enacted the full MTMA as the "Virginia Money Transmitters Act," effective 2026-07-01; no virtual-currency title (CSBS). [S5][S6]
2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes
| Law | What it does | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| HB 263 (2022) | Banks may custody virtual currency | Enacted 2022 (unverified here) | — |
| SB 339 / SB 439 (2024) | Joint Commission on Technology and Science studies of blockchain, mining and a possible Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Commission | Enacted 2024 | [S4] |
| HB 1286 (2024) | UCC amendments (money definition, Article 9) | Enacted 2024 | [S4] |
| HB 1796 (2025) | DAOs as LLCs, filed with the SCC | Vetoed (2025) | [S4] |
| HB 665 / SB 489 (2026) | Kiosk operator licensing (section 3) | Enacted April 2026; effective 2027-07-01 | [S3][N1] |
| HB 798 (2026) | Unclaimed-property treatment of digital-asset accounts | Signed 2026-04-15; effective 2026-07-01 | [N2] |
3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law
HB 665 (Del. Maldonado) / SB 489 (2026) — "Financial institutions and services; virtual currency kiosk operators; license required; penalties." The General Assembly passed it in early March 2026. [S3][N1][N3]
- The SCC fiscal impact statement (published 2026-03-02, Senate Substitute 1; saved) summarizes: operators must obtain an SCC licence, file annual and quarterly reports, give disclosures, and take reasonable steps against fraud and money laundering; daily and monthly limits; "a maximum transaction charge of 18 percent of the value of such transaction"; fines up to $1,000 per violation plus Virginia Consumer Protection Act enforcement; effective 2027-07-01; projected licensing revenue about $278,000 a year from FY2028. [S3]
- Law-firm summary (Orrick, 2026-04-24): enacted 2026-04-13; applications open 2027-03-01; limits of $2,000 per transaction for new users, $5,000 for existing users, $10,000 per month for all users; $25,000 surety bond; government ID; BSA/AML compliance with blockchain analytics and staff training; operators may not use the term "ATM"; fraud victims who report within 90 days and document within 120 days (police report, agency report or sworn statement) get a refund of transaction fees; localities may impose stricter rules. [N1] (Chapter numbers and the exact signing dates of HB 665 and SB 489 not confirmed from LIS, which is JavaScript-only — gap.)
- Until 2027-07-01, kiosk operators handling fiat may need a money-transmitter licence under BFI's notice (case by case). [S2]
4. Tax treatment
- Virginia income tax follows federal AGI (general knowledge; unverified). 2025 HB 2428 (treat crypto-mining facilities like data centers for personal property tax classification) failed. No Department of Taxation crypto guidance was found (gap). [S4]
5. Notable enforcement
- No Virginia SCC crypto enforcement action was located in this check (gap).
6. Pending and recently failed bills
| Bill | Subject | Status (checked 2026-10-09) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SB 557 (2026) | Commonwealth Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Fund (invest in Bitcoin or other crypto) | Failed | [S4] |
| HB 1121 (2026) | Public entities may invest in precious-metal and virtual-currency ETPs | Failed | [S4] |
| HB 293 (2026) | Limited Liability DAO Act | Failed | [S4] |
| SB 782 (2026) | Limited Liability DAO Act | Continued to 2027 (carryover) | [S4] |
| HB 1521 (2026) | Digital property rights; AI critical-infrastructure risk policies | Continued to 2027 | [S4] |
| SB 1170 (2025) | Disclose digital assets on economic-interest forms | Failed 2025 | [S4] |
7. Contested and fringe claims (flagged, not endorsed)
- "Don't call it an ATM." The 2026 law bars kiosk operators from using "ATM," reflecting a view that the term misleads consumers into thinking the machines are bank-like; operators have long used "Bitcoin ATM" in marketing. [N1] Framing dispute.
- No refund of principal. Virginia's law refunds fees, not the stolen principal (as reported) — weaker than New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont or South Dakota. Consumer advocates are likely to push for more (forecast — unverified). [N1]
- DAO veto (2025). Gov. Youngkin vetoed HB 1796; his reasons were not read (gap).
Sources
Saved full copies are in sources/states/va/.
- [S1] Code of Virginia, Title 6.2, Chapter 19.1 (Money Transmitters), full chapter. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title6.2/chapter19.1 — retrieved 2026-10-09 — saved
va-code-title-6.2-ch-19.1-money-transmitters.html - [S2] Virginia SCC, Bureau of Financial Institutions, "Notice to Residents Regarding Virtual Currency." https://www.scc.virginia.gov/consumers/banks-consumer-lenders/consumer-resources/notice-to-residents-regarding-virtual-currency — saved
va-scc-bfi-notice-to-residents-virtual-currency.html - [S3] Virginia SCC, Fiscal Impact Statement for HB 665 (Senate Substitute 1), published 2026-03-02. https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189900.PDF — saved
va-scc-fiscal-impact-statement-hb665-2026-03-02.pdf - [S4] NCSL, 2024, 2025 and 2026 cryptocurrency legislation pages. https://www.ncsl.org/financial-services/cryptocurrency-digital-or-virtual-currency-and-digital-assets-2026-legislation — read 2026-10-09
- [S5] CSBS, MTMA State Enactments (PDF dated 2026-10-08). https://www.csbs.org/sites/default/files/external-link-files/10.8.26%20MTMA%20State%20Enactments.pdf
- [S6] CSBS, MTMA legislative update (August 2026). https://www.csbs.org/mtma-legislative-update-august-2026
- [N1] Orrick InfoBytes, "Virginia enacts virtual currency kiosk licensing and regulatory framework," 2026-04-24. http://infobytes.orrick.com/2026-04-24/virginia-enacts-virtual-currency-kiosk-licensing-and-regulatory-framework/ — summary only
- [N2] Yahoo Finance, "Virginia Governor Signs Law Protecting Dormant Crypto From Forced Liquidation," 2026-04-15. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/virginia-governor-signs-law-protecting-111303011.html — summary only
- [N3] WSLS, "Virginia General Assembly passes cryptocurrency kiosk regulations," 2026-03-04 (headline only). https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2026/03/04/virginia-general-assembly-passes-cryptocurrency-kiosk-regulations