Illinois (IL): Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

Bitcoin Research — Law, Regulation, Markets & Origins (2026)

Legislation

2026-10-09

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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.

Illinois (IL): Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

Field Value
Jurisdiction US state: Illinois
Date checked 2026-10-09
Main regulator Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)
Money-transmitter law Illinois Uniform Money Transmission Modernization Act, 205 ILCS 658, effective 2026-01-01. It replaced the Transmitters of Money Act (TOMA). CSBS: Full MTMA, Virtual Currency Title: No (CSBS).
Crypto-specific regime Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act (DACPA), SB 1797, Public Act 104-0428, approved and effective 2025-08-18. IDFPR registration of digital-asset businesses is required by 2027-07-01, and conduct rules apply from 2027-01-01.
UMSA? / URVCBA? No / No. DACPA follows the California DFAL and URVCBA model (digital financial asset business activity, covered exchanges, qualified custodians).
Crypto ATM / kiosk law Yes. Digital Asset Kiosk Act, SB 2319, Public Act 104-0429, approved and effective 2025-08-18: $2,500 per day for new and $10,500 for existing customers; charges capped at the greater of $5 or 18%; refunds; IDFPR registration by 2027-07-01.

Summary

Illinois went from "virtual currency is not money" to a full crypto licensing regime:

  • 2017 IDFPR position: under the old TOMA, virtual currency was not "money" (that guidance was not retrieved; widely reported, so unverified here).
  • 2025: Governor Pritzker signed two laws on 2025-08-18:
  • DACPA, a California-style registration and supervision regime for exchanges, custodians and other digital-asset businesses, phased in through 2027;
  • the Digital Asset Kiosk Act, with limits, an 18% charge cap and refunds.
  • 2026: the legislature added digital-asset due-diligence rules for credit unions (P.A. 104-0505 and 104-0567).
  • Bills that have not moved: "Community Bitcoin Reserve" bills (HB 5621, SB 3743, which would create an "Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve"), a local-government bitcoin-investment bill (SB 3672) and a crypto-mining noise bill (SB 3030) sit in the Rules or Assignments committees. They technically remain alive until the 104th General Assembly ends in January 2027.

1. Money-transmitter licensing and virtual currency

  • 205 ILCS 658 (Uniform Money Transmission Modernization Act), effective 2026-01-01 per CSBS. DACPA refers to it, for example in defining certain stored-value products "governed by the Uniform Money Transmission Modernization Act".
  • DACPA, Public Act 104-0428 (PA PDF, saved; bill status):
  • A registration regime run by IDFPR for "digital asset business activity". Covered exchanges must meet listing and custody standards, and "qualified custodians" are defined.
  • Violations of Article 5 are an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (new 815 ILCS 505/2HHHH).
  • Transition (§ 35-15):
    • no violation of the registration requirement until 2027-07-01;
    • certain conduct sections bite from 2027-01-01;
    • IDFPR rules may take effect no earlier than 2026-01-01.
  • HB 5303 (2026), "DIGITAL ASSETS-VARIOUS" would amend DACPA. Among other things it would exempt firms with no more than $5M a year of activity from residents. Re-referred to House Rules on 2026-03-27 under Rule 19(a) (status).

2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes and guidance

Law What it does Status Source
Blockchain Technology Act, 205 ILCS 730 (2019) Recognises blockchain records and smart contracts; limits local taxation or regulation of blockchain use Enacted 2019 (not retrieved; unverified details)
DACPA, P.A. 104-0428 Digital-asset business registration and consumer protection Approved 2025-08-18; registration required by 2027-07-01 saved
Digital Asset Kiosk Act, P.A. 104-0429 Kiosks (section 3) Approved 2025-08-18 saved
P.A. 104-0505 (HB 4770) and P.A. 104-0567 (SB 3113), "Credit Unions-Various" Amend the Illinois Credit Union Act, adding "disclosure and due diligence requirements for credit unions when providing digital asset services or contracting" for them Public Acts (HB 4770 status 2026-06-26; SB 3113 status 2026-07-10) HB 4770 status; SB 3113 status

3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law

Digital Asset Kiosk Act, SB 2319, Public Act 104-0429, approved and effective 2025-08-18 (PA PDF, saved):

  • Registration: operators must register with IDFPR. Operators with kiosks in Illinois when the act took effect need not register until 2027-07-01 (§ 50(b)).
  • Application fee: $5,000.
  • Surety bond: the greater of $100,000 or 100% of monthly kiosk volume, capped at $2M.
  • Tangible net worth: tiered, from $100,000.
  • Daily limits (§ 25): "$2,500 ... in a day" for a new customer; "$10,500" for an existing customer.
  • Charges cap (§ 30): charges per transaction may not exceed "the greater of ... (1) $5; or (2) 18% of digital assets involved".
  • Disclosures (§ 35): include the spread between the price charged and the market price, refund procedures, and bold warnings.
  • Kiosk locations must be reported (§ 40). Operators must keep a monitored line for law enforcement.
  • Refunds (§ 45):
  • A new customer gets the full amount of up to 3 fraudulent transactions in the new-customer period. The customer must contact the operator and an agency within 30 days and submit a police or agency report within 60 days.
  • An existing customer who was fraudulently induced gets back all charges.
  • Secondary reporting: about 1,482 crypto ATMs in Illinois, according to Coin ATM Radar as cited by TheStreet/Yahoo (Yahoo).

4. Tax treatment

No IDOR crypto guidance was retrieved (gap). Illinois income tax starts from federal AGI. The Blockchain Technology Act restricts local taxation of blockchain use (unverified detail).

5. Notable enforcement

Date Action Source
2026-10-08 Illinois was one of seven lead states in the 34-state, $2.5M Coinme BSA/AML settlement CSBS
Ongoing Attorney General warnings about crypto "recovery" scams Yahoo headline (not retrieved)
— AARP reports that "a county in Illinois" has banned crypto ATMs; the county is not named AARP (unverified which county)

6. Bills, 104th General Assembly (2025–2026)

Statuses come from ilga.gov bill status pages, checked 2026-10-09. The 104th General Assembly continues until January 2027, with a fall veto session, so bills parked in Rules or Assignments are technically pending but dormant.

Bill Subject Status (last action)
SB 1797 Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act P.A. 104-0428, effective 2025-08-18
SB 2319 Digital Asset Kiosk Act P.A. 104-0429, effective 2025-08-18
HB 4770 / SB 3113 Credit unions, including digital-asset services P.A. 104-0505 / 104-0567
HB 5621 Community Bitcoin Reserve Act: a DCEO-run program; designates the "Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve" as the first community reserve site; state acquisition only if authorized and "budget-neutral"; multisignature cold storage Referred to House Rules, 2026-02-13 (pending, dormant)
SB 3743 Community Bitcoin Reserve (Senate) Referred to Assignments (2026-02-05; last action 2026-02-25); pending, dormant
SB 3672 Local Government Digital Asset Investment Act: public agencies could invest up to 5% in bitcoin ETFs, digital-asset stocks or "Bitcoin bonds" Referred (last action 2026-03-26); pending, dormant
SB 3030 Crypto-mining noise-reduction rules under the Environmental Protection Act Re-referred to Assignments, 2026-05-22 (Rule 3-9(a)); dormant
HB 5303 DACPA amendments ($5M de minimis exemption and more) Re-referred to Rules, 2026-03-27; dormant

7. Contested and fringe claims

  • The "crypto bros" dispute. Pritzker said on signing: "While the Trump Administration is letting crypto bros write federal policy, Illinois is implementing common-sense protections ..." Stand With Crypto called the remarks dismissive of "66,000 crypto supporters in Illinois". Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn noted the bipartisan federal votes (TheStreet via Yahoo, 2025-08-20). This is a political fight, not a legal one.
  • "Community Bitcoin Reserve" / "Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve." These bills propose bitcoin held for community programs, with annual "program releases". This is a novel and untested idea. No hearing has been held.
  • Fraud statistics. Sen. Mark Walker cited $163M in Illinois crypto losses in 2023. The FBI reported $272M in 2024 (both as reported by TheStreet/Yahoo). The figures measure different things and should not be compared directly.

Saved sources (sources/states/il/)

See sources/states/il/INDEX.md.

Gaps

  • IDFPR's 2017 digital-currency guidance and any 2026 DACPA rules.
  • The Blockchain Technology Act text.
  • The UMTMA enactment details (which public act, which date).
  • Which Illinois county banned kiosks.
  • IDOR tax guidance.