{ "jurisdiction_id": "US-MA", "jurisdiction": "United States – Massachusetts", "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-massachusetts/", "generator": "render_jid v13.3.0", "date_modified": "2026-08-17", "schema_version": "crypto-v2.0.0", "counts": { "modules": 7, "sourced_findings": 16, "source_register": 14 }, "modules": [ { "code": "crypto_licensing", "name": "Crypto Licensing", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-massachusetts/#crypto-licensing-crypto-licensing", "standing_position": "Massachusetts has no bespoke crypto-asset licensing statute. Virtual-currency exchanges, custodians and other VASP-type businesses operating in the Commonwealth are regulated under the state's general money-transmitter licensing law, administered by the Massachusetts Division of Banks (part of the Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation). Businesses typically apply through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), the common multistate infrastructure most U.S. states use for licensing administration, though NMLS itself does not set substantive licensing standards. Whether Massachusetts has adopted any crypto-specific carve-out or exemption from the general MTL regime has not been independently confirmed in this research pass.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "token_classification", "name": "Token Classification", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-massachusetts/#token-classification-token-classification", "standing_position": "Massachusetts has no independent state token-taxonomy. Token characterization for securities purposes is governed by federal SEC/CFTC doctrine (the Howey test and, since early 2026, the SEC's five-category crypto-asset framework), while the Massachusetts Securities Division (within the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth) independently enforces the state Uniform Securities Act against unregistered token/ICO offerings sold to Massachusetts residents.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "on_chain_activity_regime", "name": "On-Chain Activity Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-massachusetts/#on-chain-activity-regime-on-chain-activity-regime", "standing_position": "No Massachusetts-specific licensing, registration, or prohibition regime targeting on-chain activities (staking, DeFi lending, mining, node/validator operation, tokenization) has been identified. Such activities are subject to the general MTL framework only insofar as they constitute money transmission, and to federal banking-agency statements on crypto-asset custody/safekeeping that flow through to MA-chartered or MA-supervised institutions.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "stablecoin_regime", "name": "Stablecoin Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-massachusetts/#stablecoin-regime-stablecoin-regime", "standing_position": "Massachusetts has not enacted a state-specific stablecoin issuance, reserve, or redemption regime. Stablecoin regulation in the U.S. is now anchored at the federal level under the GENIUS Act framework, referenced in the SEC's 2026 interpretive release, which will categorically exclude qualifying 'payment stablecoins' from the securities definition once the Act's provisions take effect; non-qualifying stablecoins remain subject to case-by-case federal securities analysis. No Massachusetts-specific overlay on this federal baseline was located.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "consumer_protection", "name": "Consumer Protection", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-massachusetts/#consumer-protection-consumer-protection", "standing_position": "Massachusetts consumer protection relevant to crypto is enforced primarily through the Attorney General's Office (general consumer-protection authority) and the Securities Division (investment-fraud enforcement). The AGO has issued public consumer alerts on crypto-enabled scams and has formally advocated to the SEC for enhanced crypto-custody and DeFi risk-disclosure requirements, citing the practical difficulty of tracing or recovering funds lost through unregulated decentralized exchanges.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "tax_treatment", "name": "Tax Treatment", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-massachusetts/#tax-treatment-tax-treatment", "standing_position": "Massachusetts personal income tax conforms to the federal characterization of digital assets as property, meaning dispositions generally trigger capital gains or loss recognition; no Massachusetts Department of Revenue guidance specific to virtual currency, staking rewards, or NFTs distinct from this federal conformity baseline was located. New federal Form 1099-DA broker reporting (first issued February 2026, covering 2025 sales) will materially increase third-party reporting relevant to both federal and Massachusetts compliance.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "cross_border_transfer", "name": "Cross-Border Transfer", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-massachusetts/#cross-border-transfer-cross-border-transfer", "standing_position": "No Massachusetts-specific outbound restriction on crypto-asset transfers exists. Cross-border crypto transfers by MA-based money transmitters and exchanges are governed by federal sanctions and AML frameworks — OFAC SDN screening and FinCEN's Funds Travel Rule for qualifying transmittals — which the Division of Banks incorporates by reference through general MTL safety-and-soundness and compliance expectations rather than through a distinct state cross-border regime.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] } ] }