Minnesota (MN): Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

Summary

Minnesota licenses virtual-currency businesses under ch. 53B, which has a dedicated virtual-currency article. In 2024 it adopted kiosk rules, including a $2,000 limit for new customers. In 2026 it banned kiosks outright, effective 2026-08-01, with removal and customer payouts required by year-end.

Also in 2026, Minnesota:

• let banks provide virtual-currency custody (Laws 2026, ch. 93);
• eased the treatment of virtual currency in licensees' tangible net worth (ch. 124, amending § 53B.74).

A "Minnesota Bitcoin Act" (HF 2946), which would have allowed crypto payments to the state and State Board of Investment crypto investment, did not pass.

1. Money-transmitter licensing and virtual currency

• Minn. Stat. ch. 53B, virtual-currency article (chapter 53B, saved). Section headings:
• § 53B.69, Definitions;
• § 53B.70, Scope;
• § 53B.71, Virtual Currency Business Activity; Conditions Precedent;
• § 53B.72, Required Disclosures;
• § 53B.73, Property Interests and Entitlements to Virtual Currency;
• § 53B.74, Virtual Currency Business Activities; Additional Requirements.
• Laws 2026, ch. 124 (HF 4188), art. 1, § 7, amending § 53B.74 (signed 2026-05-27; chapter). Before the change, licensees could count virtual currency (at its 6-month average value) in tangible net worth. The amendment says a licensee "is not required to subtract virtual currency from total asse[ts]". The full new text was not reviewed.

2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes and guidance

3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law

Minn. Stat. § 53B.751 (Laws 2026, ch. 65, SF 3868). Presented to the governor 2026-05-04; signed by Gov. Walz 2026-05-05 at 10:44 a.m.:

• Subd. 1(a): "Beginning August 1, 2026, a person is prohibited from installing, operating, maintaining, or making available for use a virtual currency kiosk."
• Subd. 1(b): kiosks must be removed from public view and access by 2026-12-31.
• Subd. 2, payouts: kiosk-only operators must pay out money or crypto held for customers by 2026-12-31, in US dollars at market value or to a wallet the customer designates (within 30 days of the request), recorded on the blockchain.
• Subd. 3: no payout is required if the operator keeps other lawful means for customers to access their assets.
• The definition of "virtual currency kiosk" now also covers "a person acting on behalf of" the operator, which closes the cashier-assisted route.
• The 2024 kiosk rules (§ 53B.75, subds. 1–5) are repealed.

Context: - About 350–400 kiosks were operating in Minnesota. - The Department of Commerce estimated nearly $1M lost over three years, about half of it in 2025. It said only 48% of victims recover anything, averaging 16% of their loss (Pioneer Press/Twin Cities; MinnPost). - Local precedent: St. Paul's city council banned kiosks in 2025 (AARP).

4. Tax treatment

No Minnesota Department of Revenue crypto guidance was retrieved (gap). Minnesota income tax starts from federal taxable income.

5. Notable enforcement

• None retrieved (gap). Enforcement of the kiosk ban falls under ch. 53B's general powers.
• Minnesota is a participating state (Appendix A); its share of the $2.2M administrative penalty is $37,087.33 (Appendix B) Coinme consent order, App. A–B (completeness check, 2026-10-09).

6. Bills, 2025–2026 (94th Legislature)

Statuses come from the revisor's laws index and bill pages, checked 2026-10-09. The 2026 session ended in May and the biennium is over.

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

7. Contested and fringe claims

• Ban versus regulation. CoinFlip's general counsel Larry Lipka testified that "scams are a problem everywhere ... Nobody is here today saying that we should ban exchanges or gift cards or wire transfers because scammers use them." He argued for tighter rules rather than a ban (MinnPost). The Commerce Department's Sam Smith said Minnesota is "part of a growing movement of states, red and blue, that are alarmed by the trajectory of this industry."
• Conflicting sources on "first" bans. crypto.news's kiosk page lists Connecticut, Vermont and Minnesota as the three ban states in one place, and Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota in another (crypto.news). The Minnesota statute itself confirms only Minnesota's ban. Resolved by the completeness check (2026-10-09) from enacted texts saved in this repo: the three statewide bans are Indiana (HEA 1116, P.L. 143-2026: "A person may not operate a virtual currency kiosk"; in force on passage, 2026-03-09; sources/states/in/IN-HEA1116-2026-enrolled-PL143-virtual-currency-kiosk-ban.pdf), Tennessee (Public Chapter 766: operating a kiosk is a Class A misdemeanor; "takes effect July 1, 2026"; sources/states/tn/tn-2026-public-chapter-766-hb2505-sb2251-virtual-currency-kiosk-ban.pdf) and Minnesota (ban from 2026-08-01). By effective date Minnesota is the third. Connecticut has no ban (legislation/us-state-ct.md, "Disputed claim"). Vermont had a moratorium on new kiosks until 2026-07-01, not a ban (legislation/us-state-vt.md). So crypto.news's "Connecticut, Vermont and Minnesota" list is wrong.

Saved sources (sources/states/mn/)

See sources/states/mn/INDEX.md.

Gaps

• The 2024 kiosk law's chapter citation.
• The full text of the § 53B.74 amendment.
• DOR guidance.
• Commerce Department enforcement actions.