Connecticut (CT): Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

Summary

Connecticut has licensed virtual-currency transmitters since 2015. In 2023 it became one of the first two states, with California, to pass a crypto-kiosk law. In 2025 it went the opposite way from "bitcoin reserve" states and barred the state government from accepting, holding or investing in virtual currency.

P.A. 25-66 also:

• requires licensed custodians to hold customer crypto 1:1;
• bars them from lending, pledging or otherwise using it without the customer's authorization;
• limits third-party custody.

In March 2026 the DOB summarily suspended Bitcoin Depot's licence, two months before that company filed for bankruptcy.

1. Money-transmitter licensing and virtual currency

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-596 (definitions) (current statutes, chapter 668, saved):
• (12) "Money transmission" includes transmitting money or monetary value "by any and all means including, but not limited to, payment instrument, wire, facsimile, electronic transfer or virtual currency kiosk".
• (24) "Virtual currency" means "any type of digital unit that is used as a medium of exchange or a form of digitally stored value or that is incorporated into payment system technology". This expressly includes decentralized units "created or obtained by computing or manufacturing effort", that is, mined coins such as bitcoin.
• Virtual-currency language was added by P.A. 15-53, § 5, according to the statute's history note.
• P.A. 25-66 (HB 7082), effective 2025-10-01. Summary by the Office of Legislative Research (OLR summary, saved; Public Act text, saved):
• "Money transmission" includes using a digital wallet that stores stored value or virtual currency.
• Licensees that hold customers' virtual currency may not "sell, transfer, assign, lend, hypothecate, pledge, or otherwise use or encumber" it except at the customer's direction.
• Customer crypto may be held only by a licensed money transmitter, a qualified bank or credit union, or a custodian approved by the Commissioner (this covers "virtual currency control services vendors").
• Virtual currency the licensee holds is the property interest of claimants pro rata, which matters if the licensee becomes insolvent.
• Kiosk-style disclosures and receipts are extended to all virtual-currency transmitters.
• Advertising may not suggest FDIC insurance.
• Parental involvement is required for minors' money-sharing app accounts.

2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes and guidance

3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-613, as now in force (P.A. 23-82, § 3; P.A. 24-146, § 4) (chapter 668):

• Disclosures: written disclosure of material risks before the first transaction, acknowledged by the customer, with warnings about irreversibility and fraud. Detailed receipts in English and in the language the operator advertises in.
• Fee cap: total fees and commissions may not exceed 15% of the transaction amount (§ 36a-613(f)).
• Daily limits: $2,000 for a new customer and $5,000 for an existing customer (§ 36a-613(g)).
• In 2023 the limit was a single $2,500 per customer per day (P.A. 23-82). It was changed in 2024.
• P.A. 25-66 redefined "existing customer" as someone with at least three transactions with the licensee who has been registered for more than 72 hours.
• Refunds: a new customer may cancel and get a full refund for fraudulent transactions made within 72 hours of registering. The customer must, within 30 days of the last such transaction, contact the operator and a government or law-enforcement agency and file a report (§ 36a-613(h)).
• Compliance staffing: a qualified compliance officer and full-time compliance employees are required.
• Licensing: a kiosk operator is a money transmitter and must be licensed.

Disputed claim: "Connecticut has banned kiosks." crypto.news's kiosk page says Connecticut enacted an outright ban "effective Jan 2026" (crypto.news). We found no such law. The current statute regulates kiosks rather than banning them, AARP lists Connecticut as "Law enacted" with limits and licensing rather than a ban (AARP data), and the only 2026 crypto bill shown for Connecticut by the Bitcoin Laws tracker is the tax bill below. Treat the ban claim as false or unverified.

4. Tax treatment

• No Connecticut Department of Revenue Services crypto guidance was retrieved (unverified; Connecticut income tax starts from federal AGI).
• HB 5115 (2026), "An Act Establishing a Personal Income Tax Deduction for Certain Losses Incurred as a Result of Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud or Wire Fraud": the Finance Committee reported it (File No. 664) and it was referred to OLR and the fiscal office on 2026-04-15. Not enacted. The 2026 session ended in May; we infer the bill died because no Public Act number is shown (bill status).

5. Notable enforcement

6. Bills

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

7. Contested and fringe claims

• "Anti-reserve" state. P.A. 25-66 § 5 is the clearest statutory rejection of the strategic-bitcoin-reserve idea among the states in this file. Bitcoin advocates criticised such bans as closing off a hedge; supporters cite volatility and fraud. (We did not retrieve legislators' floor statements.)
• The Bitcoin Depot suspension and bankruptcy. Bitcoin Depot's CEO blamed state rules for the company's collapse (Gizmodo). Regulators cited the company's own violations. The suspension was a summary action pending a hearing; we did not find the final outcome.

Saved sources (sources/states/ct/)

See sources/states/ct/INDEX.md.

Gaps

• The DOB's March 2026 Bitcoin Depot order and the outcome of the May 2026 hearing.
• The bill number behind P.A. 24-146.
• Any DRS tax guidance.
• Whether P.A. 25-66's kiosk amendments appear in the online statute (the online history note lists only P.A. 23-82 and P.A. 24-146 for § 36a-613).