A research archive on Bitcoin compiled in October 2026: US federal and state law (FinCEN's virtual-currency record from 1999, the 2020 unhosted-wallet rule and its 2026 withdrawal, notes on all 50 states and DC), KYC/AML for buying and selling, banking, exchanges, wallets, payment processors, hacks and their causes, patents, the 2007–2011 origins, and the evidence on who Satoshi Nakamoto is. Every note dates and cites its claims and labels anything unverified, contested or fringe. Government, court and patent records are kept here in full; other sources are cited with a link to the original. Filter by case to pick a topic, such as fincen, states or notes. Download it all as a dataset. Research, not advice. These notes explain what happened and why; they are not recommendations to buy or sell. Statuses of bills and rules are as checked on the date each note gives.
Get an AI answer drawn only from the Bitcoin Research — Law, Regulation, Markets & Origins (2026) documents indexed here — every claim cited back to the filing or proceeding it came from. It will tell you plainly when the record doesn't cover your question, rather than guessing.
This is the completeness and sourcing check of ~/Projects/bitcoin , run on 2026-10-09 after the research agents listed in NEXT.md had finished. It records what is in the repo, how many sources are saved, what was checked and fixed, everything the Spark runs rejected, the known gaps, and every claim the notes mark as unverified, contested, fringe or Spark-rejected. It is research, not advice.
This is the completeness and sourcing check of ~/Projects/bitcoin , run on 2026-10-09 after the research agents listed in NEXT.md had finished. It records what is in the repo, how many sources are saved, what was checked and fixed, everything the Spark runs rejected, the known gaps, and every claim the notes mark as unverified, contested, fringe or Spark-rejected. It is research, not advice.
Research note from the Bitcoin research archive (data/2026-10-09-link-map.csv).
Research note from the Bitcoin research archive (data/2026-10-09-link-map.csv).
One file per bill, law, rule or agency action, named jurisdiction-identifier.md (for example us-federal-hr-1234.md , wy-sf-0001.md ). Each records the jurisdiction, number, title, status, the date the status was checked, and the source.
The claim as first heard: FinCEN "tried to make a rule the other day" requiring people to register their Bitcoin wallets, and the attempt was blocked. The record differs on all three points.
Link convention: [file] links point to the saved copy in ../sources/fincen/ . Anything not confirmed from a primary document is marked (unverified) . Contested or fringe claims are kept and labelled, with who makes them. This is research, not legal or investment advice.
Research, not legal or financial advice. This file explains what the rules say and how they have been enforced. It is not a compliance program and not advice on whether or how to start a business. A real seller needs a lawyer in each state where it will operate.
Alaska already requires a licence for virtual-currency transmission, and it does so by regulation. Since 2023-01-01, 3 AAC 13.005–.006 treat any money-transmission activity "in the form of virtual currency" as covered by the UMSA (AS 06.55). In 2026 the legislature passed two laws. Both became law on 2026-06-30 without Governor Dunleavy's signature:
Alabama's money-transmitter statute has covered virtual currency since it was written. It defines "monetary value" as "a medium of exchange, including virtual or fiat currencies," so a business that receives bitcoin for transmission needs an ASC money-transmitter license. In 2026 the legislature added two crypto-specific laws, both effective 2026-10-01: a crypto-kiosk anti-fraud law (HB303) and a state stablecoin-issuer licence under the federal GENIUS Act (HB259). A third 2026 law (HB104) has…
Arkansas's money-services statute explicitly covers virtual currency. "Money transmission" includes "facilitating, selling, trading, transferring, or converting virtual currency or monetary value in this state." The ASD therefore licenses bitcoin exchangers and kiosk operators.
- Rules and tax: - The legislature has passed pro-bitcoin tax rules: an income-tax subtraction for airdrops and for gas fees. - A 2017 law recognises blockchain signatures and smart contracts. - A 2025 kiosk anti-fraud law exists. - A 2025 law (HB2749) keeps abandoned digital assets in their native form and creates a "Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund" for the staking rewards and airdrops they earn. - Vetoes and dead bills: - Governor Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed every bill in 2025 that would…
California built a crypto-specific licensing regime, the DFAL, instead of folding crypto into its money-transmitter law. Since 2026-07-01 , anyone exchanging, transferring or storing digital financial assets for California residents needs a DFPI licence or a completed pending application, unless exempt. Penalties for unlicensed activity reach $100,000 per day (secondary source).
Colorado is one of the few states whose banking regulator says, in writing, that bitcoin transmission does not need a money-transmitter licence . The Division of Banking's December 2025 guidance reasons as follows:
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 .
- Jurisdiction: District of Columbia (US) - Date checked: 2026-10-09 (all statuses below were checked on this date unless another date is given) - Regulators: Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB; money transmitters); Office of the Attorney General (OAG; consumer protection) — Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb - Legislature: Council of the District of Columbia, Council Period 26 (2025–2026); DC acts are subject to congressional review. - Saved primary sources:…
In July 2026 Delaware enacted a package of digital-asset laws, all signed 2026-07-06:
Florida treats a bitcoin seller as a money transmitter:
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:
Hawaii has the most unusual regime in this group: