New Jersey — Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

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

Legislation

2026-10-09

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.

New Jersey — Bitcoin and virtual-currency law

  • Jurisdiction: State of New Jersey (US)
  • Date checked: 2026-10-09 (all statuses below were checked on this date unless another date is given)
  • Regulators: Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI; money transmitters); Bureau of Securities, Division of Consumer Affairs (securities, including crypto); Division of Taxation
  • Legislature: 222nd Legislature, 2026–2027 session (bills carry over until January 2028).
  • Saved primary sources: sources/states/nj/ (see sources/states/nj/INDEX.md)

At a glance

Topic New Jersey position Key cite Status (checked 2026-10-09)
Money-transmitter licence for virtual currency New Jersey Money Transmitters Act, N.J.S.A. 17:15C-1 et seq. (citation from general knowledge); no statute or DOBI guidance specific to virtual currency was found (gap) — —
Model law Not an MTMA state (CSBS 2026-10-08); not a UMSA or URVCBA state (URVCBA unverified) CSBS [S5]
Digital-asset licence (proposed) Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act — would create a digital-asset-business licence under the Bureau of Securities, via NMLS A 3454 (2026) In Assembly committee since 2026-01-13 [S4][S6]
Crypto ATMs / kiosks No kiosk law yet. S 2141 — prohibit cryptocurrency ATMs — passed the Senate 37-3 on 2026-06-30; now in Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee S 2141 / A 3244 Pending [S3][S4]
Tax Follows federal treatment for income taxes; virtual currency is intangible property, not subject to sales tax when bought as an investment, but sales tax applies to taxable goods paid for with it TAM-2015-1(R), reissued 2022-03-21 In force [S1]
Securities enforcement Bureau of Securities summary cease-and-desist vs. Coinbase staking (2023-06-06), effective date repeatedly extended (15th extension to 2026-04-30) Bureau of Securities orders Ongoing/unclear after April 2026 [S2a][S2b]

1. Money-transmitter licensing of virtual currency

  • The New Jersey Money Transmitters Act (N.J.S.A. 17:15C) is administered by DOBI. No DOBI statement on whether buying, selling or transmitting Bitcoin alone requires a licence was found; DOBI's money-transmitter FAQ page does not mention virtual currency (gap). [S7]
  • CSBS lists New Jersey as not having enacted the MTMA. [S5]
  • Proposed: the Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act — 2026–27 A 3454 (2024–25 A 2249 / S 1304) — would make the Bureau of Securities the licensing authority for "digital asset business activity," with licensing through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and powers to deny, suspend or revoke licences; S 1304 (2025) exempted in-game digital consumer assets. A 3454 was introduced 2026-01-13 and referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology; no further action. [S4][S6]
  • Proposed: S 775 "Virtual Currency and Blockchain Regulation Act" — Senate Commerce since 2026-01-13. [S4][S6]

2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes

  • No enacted New Jersey statute specific to Bitcoin or virtual-currency businesses was found in the NCSL 2024–2026 lists or other sources checked (none found). [S6]

3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law

  • No enacted kiosk law.
  • S 2141 (Sens. Paul D. Moriarty and M. Teresa Ruiz; co-sponsors Stack, Diegnan, McKnight, Turner, Greenstein, Cryan, Wimberly), "Prohibits cryptocurrency automatic teller machines" — supplements the Consumer Fraud Act (N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 et seq.). Findings cite FTC Consumer Sentinel data: kiosk fraud losses up nearly tenfold since 2020 to over $110 million in 2023 and over $65 million in the first half of 2024, median loss $10,000, people 60+ three times as likely to report losses. History: introduced 2026-01-13; reported from Senate Commerce 2026-06-08; passed Senate 37-3 on 2026-06-30; referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. Introduced text saved. [S3][S4]
  • A 3244 — Assembly version of the ATM ban; in committee since 2026-01-13. [S4]
  • S 2957 / A 3386 — "Virtual Currency Kiosk Consumer Protection Act" (regulation rather than a ban); in committee since 2026-01-13. [S4][S6]
  • News (2026-06-15): New Jersey would be the fourth state to ban crypto ATMs after Indiana (March 2026), Tennessee (April 2026) and Minnesota (May 2026); federal data showed 369 New Jersey cases and $18 million in losses in 2025; CoinFlip runs 124 machines in over 100 New Jersey towns. [N1]

4. Tax treatment

Technical Advisory Memorandum TAM-2015-1(R), "Convertible Virtual Currency," reissued 2022-03-21 (saved). [S1]

  • Corporation Business Tax and Gross Income Tax: New Jersey conforms to federal treatment (IRS Notice 2014-21, Rev. Rul. 2019-24, Chief Counsel Memorandum 202114020); values in US dollars at the time of payment or receipt; virtual currency paid as wages is subject to withholding.
  • Because virtual currency is intangible property, the federal P.L. 86-272 safe harbor does not apply: an out-of-state company selling virtual currency to New Jersey customers is doing business in New Jersey for Corporation Business Tax.
  • Sales and Use Tax: virtual currency is intangible property, so buying it as an investment is not taxable; using it to pay for taxable goods or services is taxable at the fair market value of the currency on the date of payment.
  • The TAM also lists Inheritance Tax among the taxes covered. [S1]

5. Notable enforcement

Date Target Action Source
2023-06-06 Coinbase Global, Inc. and Coinbase, Inc. Bureau of Securities summary cease-and-desist order and penalty proceeding over the "Coinbase Staking Securities" (unregistered securities under the Uniform Securities Law, N.J.S.A. 49:3-47 to -89) [S2a]
2023-08 → 2025-10-15 Coinbase Effective date extended 15 times; the 15th extension (2025-10-15) moved it to 2026-04-30, citing Coinbase's claim it cannot comply without hurting other customers [S2b]
2021–2022 BlockFi Bureau of Securities cease-and-desist over interest-bearing accounts (2021); later part of a reported $100 million multistate/SEC settlement (2022) — details not re-checked (unverified) [N2]

What happened to the Coinbase order after 2026-04-30 was not found (gap).

6. Pending bills (2026–2027 session)

Bill Subject Status (checked 2026-10-09) Source
S 2141 / A 3244 Ban cryptocurrency ATMs S 2141 passed Senate 37-3 (2026-06-30); Assembly committee [S4]
S 2957 / A 3386 Virtual Currency Kiosk Consumer Protection Act Committees [S4]
A 3454 Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act (licensing under Bureau of Securities) Assembly committee [S4]
S 775 Virtual Currency and Blockchain Regulation Act Senate Commerce [S4]
S 680 Energy-use plans for AI data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities; power from new clean sources Reported from Senate Environment 2026-03-16; referred to Senate Budget [S4]
A 1111 / S 3626 Treasury review of a digital payment platform Pending (NCSL) [S6]
A 3040 / S 3628 Virtual currency and NFTs as gifts to public officials Pending (NCSL) [S6]

7. Contested and fringe claims (flagged, not endorsed)

  • Ban vs. regulate. S 2141's sponsors favor an outright ban; others back S 2957 / A 3386 regulation. Operators (e.g., CoinFlip) argue most users are legitimate and that bans push people to unregulated channels (industry position as generally reported; not read from an industry source here). [N1]
  • Coinbase staking dispute. New Jersey says staking-as-a-service is an unregistered security; Coinbase disputes this and the federal SEC dropped its own staking case in 2025 (SEC detail from general knowledge — unverified here). New Jersey's repeated extensions leave the matter unresolved. [S2a][S2b] Legal dispute.

Sources

Saved full copies are in sources/states/nj/.

  • [S1] NJ Division of Taxation, TAM-2015-1(R), "Convertible Virtual Currency," issued 2022-03-21. https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/pubs/tams/tam-2015-1.pdf — retrieved 2026-10-09 — saved nj-taxation-tam-2015-1-convertible-virtual-currency.pdf
  • [S2a] NJ Bureau of Securities, Coinbase summary penalty and cease-and-desist order, 2023-06-06. https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases23/2023-0606_Coinbase-Penalty-and-C-D.pdf — saved nj-bos-2023-06-06-coinbase-summary-penalty-cease-desist.pdf
  • [S2b] NJ Bureau of Securities, "Summary Cease and Desist Order — Fifteenth Extension," 2025-10-15. https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Actions/Coinbase_FifteenthExtension_15October2025.pdf — saved nj-bos-2025-10-15-coinbase-fifteenth-extension.pdf
  • [S3] NJ Legislature, S 2141 (2026), introduced text. https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2026/S2500/2141_I1.HTM — saved nj-2026-s2141-prohibit-crypto-atms-introduced.htm
  • [S4] NJ Legislature bill-history API (S 2141, A 3244, S 2957, A 3386, A 3454, S 775, S 680). e.g. https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/api/billDetail/billHistory/S2141/2026 — 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] NCSL, 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
  • [S7] NJ DOBI, "Foreign Money Transmitter/Money Transmitter License FAQs." https://www.nj.gov/dobi/banklicensing/formontransfaq.html — read 2026-10-09 (no virtual-currency content)
  • [N1] Yahoo News (NorthJersey.com syndication), "N.J. wants to be the 4th state to ban these high-tech crypto ATMs. Should they?," 2026-06-15. https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/n-j-wants-4th-state-134115283.html — summary only
  • [N2] NJ Office of the Attorney General, BlockFi releases (search-result titles only): https://www.njoag.gov/new-jersey-bureau-of-securities-orders-cryptocurrency-company-blockfi-to-stop-offering-interest-be… and https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases21/BlockFi-Cease-and-Desist-Order.pdf — not read (unverified)