Georgia (GA): 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.
Georgia (GA): Bitcoin and virtual-currency law
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | US state: Georgia |
| Date checked | 2026-10-09 |
| Main regulator | Department of Banking and Finance (DBF) |
| Money-transmitter law | O.C.G.A. § 7-1-680 et seq. CSBS: "Money Transmission Modernization Act", Full MTMA: Yes, effective 2023-07-01, Virtual Currency Title: No (CSBS) |
| UMSA? / URVCBA? | No / No |
| Crypto ATM / kiosk law | Yes. HB 945 (2025–26 session), Act 478, signed 2026-05-11, effective 2026-07-01. It adds Part 2 to Article 4 of Title 7, Chapter 1 (O.C.G.A. § 7-1-699 et seq.): 18% cap on all charges, daily limits of $2,500 for new and $10,000 for existing customers, refunds and ID checks. |
| Stablecoins | HB 1272, Act 452, "Georgia Payment Stablecoin Act", signed 2026-05-11 |
Summary
Georgia had no kiosk-specific statute until 2026. That year it passed HB 945, which combines elder-financial-exploitation protections (bank holds on accounts of adults 65+ or disabled adults) with a full crypto-kiosk regime:
- an 18% cap on fees, commissions and spread combined;
- daily limits of $2,500 (new customers) and $10,000 (existing customers);
- refunds for defrauded new customers;
- a fee refund for any defrauded customer;
- government ID collection, one wallet per customer, and blockchain analytics.
HB 1272 creates a GENIUS Act-aligned state stablecoin licence. 2025 bills letting the Treasurer invest in bitcoin (SB 178, SB 228) died in committee.
Georgia was one of the seven lead states in the October 2026 Coinme settlement.
1. Money-transmitter licensing and virtual currency
- Statute: O.C.G.A. § 7-1-680 et seq., modernized by the MTMA effective 2023-07-01 (per CSBS).
- HB 945 amends the definition of "money transmission" so that the listed methods include "(v) A virtual currency kiosk as defined in Code Section 7-1-699" (HB 945 as passed, saved).
- Virtual-currency-only transmission:
- Georgia gave the DBF authority over virtual-currency money transmitters in 2016 (HB 811). We believe DBF rules (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 80-3-1) address virtual currency.
- We could not verify this: rules.sos.ga.gov and the DBF site returned 403 errors or no results to automated requests.
- Stablecoins: HB 1272 excludes stablecoin issuance (and related offer, sale and redemption) from the money-transmission laws. Other money-transmission activity by issuers still needs a licence (Eversheds via JD Supra; Orrick via JD Supra).
2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes and guidance
| Bill or act | What it does | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| HB 945, Act 478 (Reps. Bruce Williamson, Noel Williams Jr., Johnny Chastain) | Kiosk regime plus holds on suspected elder financial exploitation | Signed 2026-05-11; effective 2026-07-01 | Georgia General Assembly API (legislation ID 72143); as-passed text saved |
| HB 1272, Act 452 (Reps. Todd Jones, Scott Hilton, Demetrius Douglas), Georgia Payment Stablecoin Act | DBF licences payment-stablecoin issuers. Requires 1:1 reserves, monthly reserve reports, and no interest or yield to holders. From 2028-07-18 only permitted issuers' stablecoins may be offered in Georgia. | Signed 2026-05-11. Effective date conflict: the act's Section 4 says "the earlier of: (1) January 18, 2027; or (2) 120 days after the issuance of final implementing regulations for the GENIUS Act", "Subject to appropriations"; the legislature's status history shows "Effective Date 2026-07-01". We follow the act's own text. | as-passed text saved |
| HB 811 (2016) | DBF authority over virtual currency | Enacted 2016 (from memory; not retrieved, unverified) | |
| SR 391 (2025) | Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Currency | Adopted by substitute, 2025-04-02 | Georgia General Assembly API |
| HR 2121 (2026) | Commends "the transformative impact of blockchain technology" | Adopted 2026-04-02 | Georgia General Assembly API |
3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law
HB 945 (Act 478), O.C.G.A. § 7-1-699 et seq. Effective 2026-07-01 (as-passed text, LC 62 0310S/AP):
- Definitions:
- "New customer" means registered for less than 72 hours.
- "New customer time period" means the first 72 hours.
- "Existing customer" means registered for more than 72 hours.
- Disclosures in English and the customer's chosen language, before the relationship begins and before each transaction. Detailed receipts listing operator and owner contacts, addresses, amounts, the refund policy and how to complain to the DBF (§§ 7-1-699.1 to .6).
- Charges cap (§ 7-1-699.7): "The total amount of any fee, commission, spread, or other charges ... shall not exceed 18 percent of the amount of the fiat currency exchanged or transmitted."
- Daily limits (§ 7-1-699.8): "$2,500.00 for each new customer" and "$10,000.00 for each existing customer".
- Refunds (§ 7-1-699.9):
- (1) A new customer gets the full amount of all transactions made in the first 72 hours if defrauded and if the customer contacts the operator and a government or law-enforcement agency within five days of the last transaction in that period.
- (2) Any defrauded customer, new or existing, gets the full amount of fees refunded (the exact conditions are in the text).
- Operator duties (§ 7-1-699.10):
- Copy or scan government ID for each customer.
- Stop more than one customer from using the same wallet.
- Be able to block designated wallets.
- Use a third-party blockchain-analysis firm to block high-risk or sanctioned wallets.
- Follow risk-based monitoring policies.
- News reports differ. Atlanta News First (via MSN and Yahoo) summarised the refund as "within 72 hours of request" and said nothing of daily limits (MSN). The statute text above controls.
- AARP lists Georgia as "Law enacted" with daily limits, refunds, receipts, live support and licensing (AARP data).
- crypto.news's claim: its page says "Georgia simultaneously imposed new restrictions short of a full ban" on 2026-07-01, which is consistent with HB 945 (crypto.news).
4. Tax treatment
No Georgia Department of Revenue crypto guidance was retrieved (gap). Georgia income tax starts from federal AGI.
5. Notable enforcement
| Date | Action | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-08 | Georgia was one of seven lead states in the 34-state, $2.5M BSA/AML settlement with Coinme Inc. Kiosks are to close by 2027-01-01, or Coinme pays $4M more. | CSBS |
6. Bills, 2025–2026 session
Source: the Georgia General Assembly's legislation API (www.legis.ga.gov/api/Legislation), searched 2026-10-09 for "cryptocurrency", "virtual currency", "digital asset", "bitcoin", "blockchain", "stablecoin", "kiosk" and "central bank digital currency". Results were filtered by caption. The 2026 session adjourned in April 2026, and bills of the 2025–26 biennium not enacted are dead.
| Bill | Subject | Status |
|---|---|---|
| HB 945 | Kiosks plus elder exploitation | Act 478, signed 2026-05-11 |
| HB 1272 | Payment Stablecoin Act | Act 452, signed 2026-05-11 |
| SB 178 (2025), Sen. Dolezal | Let the State Depository Board allow the Treasurer to invest in Bitcoin, defined as "the decentralized digital currency hosted on the public blockchain by the same name" | Read and referred 2025-02-18; died |
| SB 228 (2025), Sen. Esteves | Similar: Treasurer may invest in bitcoin and accept, store and transact it | Read and referred 2025-02-21; died |
| HR 905 (2026) | K-12 public awareness campaign on blockchain, crypto and Web3 | House second readers only; died |
| SR 391 (2025) | AI and Digital Currency study committee | Adopted 2025-04-02 |
Pending: none. The next session begins in January 2027.
7. Contested and fringe claims
- Bipartisan bitcoin-investment bills. SB 228 was sponsored by Democrats (Sens. Esteves, Jackson, Parent); SB 178 by Republicans (Sen. Dolezal and others). Neither received a hearing. Supporters frame bitcoin as a reserve asset; neither bill's fiscal analysis was retrieved.
- Tracker false positive. The Bitcoin Laws tracker lists SB 403 (2026, unclaimed property) as crypto-related. Its as-passed text does not mention cryptocurrency, virtual currency or digital assets. Treat it as not crypto-related.
Saved sources (sources/states/ga/)
See sources/states/ga/INDEX.md.
Gaps
- DBF virtual-currency rules (rules.sos.ga.gov blocked).
- 2016 HB 811 text.
- DOR crypto tax guidance.
- DBF enforcement history beyond the Coinme settlement.