Montana (MT): 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.
Montana (MT): Bitcoin and virtual-currency law
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | US state: Montana |
| Date checked | 2026-10-09 |
| Main regulators | Division of Banking and Financial Institutions (BFID), Department of Administration; Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (State Auditor) for securities |
| Money-transmitter law | None. Montana is the only state that does not regulate money transmitters. The BFID says: "The Montana Division of Banking and Financial Institutions (Division) does not regulate money transmitters ... money transmission ... inconveniently, is not defined under Montana law." CSBS lists no MTMA for Montana. |
| UMSA? / URVCBA? / MTMA? | No / No / No |
| Crypto ATM / kiosk law | None. No 2026 session (the legislature meets in odd years). AARP Montana is preparing a kiosk proposal for the 2027 session. |
| Pro-bitcoin statutes | SB 178 (2023): right to mine and no discriminatory taxes. SB 265 (2025): "Financial Freedom and Innovation Act" (anti-CBDC, self-custody, nodes, staking, network tokens). SB 426 (2025): UCC update for digital assets. SB 330 (2025): Blockchain and Digital Innovation Task Force. |
Summary
Montana combines no money-transmitter licensing at all with a series of pro-bitcoin "freedom" laws:
- SB 178 (2023): protects digital-asset mining from discriminatory utility rates and zoning, bars extra taxes for paying with digital assets, and treats digital assets as personal property.
- SB 265 (2025):
- Bars state and local governments from accepting or testing a central bank digital currency.
- Protects payment use and self-custody of digital assets, node operation, software development, transfers and staking.
- Creates a certification path and securities exemption for "network tokens".
- SB 426 (2025): updates the UCC for digital assets (UCC Article 12-style).
- SB 330 (2025): creates a Blockchain and Digital Innovation Task Force, which met through 2025.
The 2025 bills to put state investment money into precious metals and digital assets (HB 429, which the House rejected), to accept crypto for income tax (HB 453), and on mining and data-centre ratemaking (HB 263) all died. Montanans lost a record $53M to cybercrime in 2025 (FBI via AARP Montana), but no kiosk bill has been filed yet.
1. Money-transmitter licensing and virtual currency
No state licence exists. From the BFID homepage, article "The Challenge of Being the Only State Not Regulating Money Transmitters" (banking.mt.gov, saved):
- "The Montana Division of Banking does not regulate money transmitters. BUT ... that absolutely does not mean that your company – a money transmitter – doesn't need any licenses in Montana unless the only thing you are doing is money transmission. Which, inconveniently, is not defined under Montana law."
- The Division withdrew an earlier request that money transmitters submit business plans, because "we don't really have authority to request much of anything from a company that isn't licensed."
- The Task Force's December 2025 presentation lists as a focus area: "If an exchange wants to locate in MT: what license applies? Money transmitter? something else? How predictable is approval?" (presentation, saved).
- Federal FinCEN money-services-business registration still applies to bitcoin businesses serving Montanans.
2. Virtual-currency-specific statutes and guidance
| Law | What it does | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SB 178 (2023), Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, "Generally revise cryptocurrency laws" | Protects mining from discriminatory utility rates; restricts local zoning discrimination against mining; bars extra taxation solely for paying with digital assets; treats digital assets as personal property | Signed; chapter assigned (2023) | Montana Free Press Capitol Tracker; summary in the Task Force presentation. Enrolled text not retrieved (LegiScan blocked; the old LAWS links redirect). |
| SB 265 (2025), Sen. Zolnikov, Financial Freedom and Innovation Act (2025 Mont. Laws ch. 379) | § 2: a "governing authority may not accept or require a payment using central bank digital currency" or join a federal CBDC test. § 3: governments may not restrict accepting digital assets as payment, self-custody, and similar activities. Protections for nodes, development, transfers and staking. Network-token issuer certification with the Commissioner and an exemption under § 30-10-105, MCA. | Chaptered (status 2025-05-08); effective 2025-10-01 (per the Task Force presentation) | Enrolled text (saved); API status |
| SB 426 (2025) (ch. 200) | "Generally revise the Uniform Commercial Code", covering digital assets | Signed 2025-04-17 (Task Force presentation); chapter assigned 2025-04-19 | Montana Legislature API |
| SB 330 (2025), Sen. Gayle Lammers (ch. 386) | Montana Blockchain and Digital Innovation Task Force (Department of Administration), with the AG, State Auditor and others; has a termination date | Chaptered (status 2025-05-08); passed 81–18 | Enrolled text (saved); Daily Montanan, 2025-04-03 |
3. Crypto ATM / kiosk law
- None. AARP's tracker has no Montana entry (AARP data).
- AARP Montana is "laying the groundwork" for the 2027 session. About 400 kiosks operate in Montana. "No specific legislative proposal has been introduced yet." State Director Tim Summers: policymakers "should carefully consider whether any benefits these kiosks provide justify the risks they pose" (Billings Gazette).
- With no money-transmitter law, Montana has no licensing hook for kiosk operators. A 2027 bill would have to create one or rely on consumer-protection law (our analysis).
4. Tax treatment
- Montana has no general sales tax. Its income tax starts from federal taxable income (DOR crypto guidance not retrieved).
- SB 178 (2023) bars additional taxes imposed solely because digital assets are used as payment (Task Force summary).
- HB 453 (2025), which would have required the Department of Revenue to accept income-tax payments in cryptocurrency, died (2025-05-20).
5. Notable enforcement
- None retrieved (gap). The State Auditor (Commissioner of Securities and Insurance) handles crypto securities fraud; specific actions were not checked.
- Montana is not one of the seven lead states that CSBS named in the 2026-10-08 34-state Coinme settlement (CSBS), and with no money-transmitter regulator it has no licence to act on, so its participation was unlikely. Confirmed: Montana is not among the 34 participating agencies listed in Appendix A Coinme consent order, App. A–B (completeness check, 2026-10-09).
6. Bills, 69th Legislature (2025)
Statuses come from the Montana Legislature bills API (bearbeta.legmt.gov), checked 2026-10-09.
| Bill | Subject | Status |
|---|---|---|
| SB 265 | Financial Freedom and Innovation Act | Chaptered (ch. 379) |
| SB 330 | Blockchain and Digital Innovation Task Force | Chaptered (ch. 386) |
| SB 426 | UCC revision (digital assets) | Chaptered (ch. 200) |
| HB 429 (Rep. C. Schomer and others) | State special revenue account for Board of Investments investment in precious metals and digital assets (a reserve-style bill) | Died (House second reading failed, February 2025; final status "Died in Process", 2025-05-20) |
| HB 453 | Require DOR to accept income-tax payments in cryptocurrency | Died 2025-05-20 |
| HB 263 | Digital asset mining and data-center ratemaking | Died 2025-05-20 |
| SB 178 (2023) | Cryptocurrency laws (mining, taxes, property) | Law (2023) |
Pending: none. The next regular session is January 2027.
7. Contested and fringe claims
- "Montana voted down a $50 million bitcoin reserve." Crypto media headline HB 429 that way (Bitcoin Insider and others). The bill text describes an account for investment in "precious metals and digital assets" as decided by the Board of Investments, so calling it a "bitcoin reserve" oversimplifies it. The $50M figure is unverified against the bill's transfer section.
- Mining protections versus energy concerns. In 2025 coverage, Public Service Commission President Brad Molnar called the data-center bill (HB 877) "a deregulation bill". Critics cite winter brownout risk and NorthWestern Energy's $39M cold-snap costs (Daily Montanan). Mining advocates cite jobs and grid flexibility. Contested.
- The only state with no money-transmitter law. Some call this a regulatory gap that leaves consumers exposed; others call it a freedom-friendly feature. The BFID itself describes it as a "challenge".
Saved sources (sources/states/mt/)
See sources/states/mt/INDEX.md.
Gaps
- SB 178 (2023) enrolled text.
- SB 426 text.
- HB 429's House vote record.
- DOR tax guidance.
- State Auditor crypto enforcement actions.