{
 "jurisdiction_id": "US",
 "jurisdiction": "United States",
 "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/",
 "generator": "render_jid v13.3.0",
 "date_modified": "2026-08-17",
 "schema_version": "crypto-v2.0.0",
 "counts": {
  "modules": 8,
  "sourced_findings": 29,
  "source_register": 70
 },
 "modules": [
  {
   "code": "crypto_licensing",
   "name": "Crypto Licensing",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/#crypto-licensing-crypto-licensing",
   "standing_position": "Federal stablecoin-issuer licensing under the GENIUS Act is enacted but not yet operative (backstop January 18, 2027), while the broader CLARITY Act market-structure bill remains stalled in the Senate despite Wall Street backing. In the interim, New York's BitLicense regime and FinCEN's MSB registration requirement constitute the operative licensing baseline for US crypto businesses.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "a federal 'permitted payment stablecoin issuer' authorization regime that becomes operative on the earlier of 120 days after final implementing rules or January 18, 2027",
     "instrument_type": "law",
     "source": "GENIUS Act (Pub. L. 119-27)",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/406286/what-is-the-genius-act",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "a BitLicense (or equivalent NY limited-purpose trust/banking charter) for any person engaging in Virtual Currency Business Activity involving New York or a New York resident",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)",
     "source_url": "https://www.dfs.ny.gov/virtual_currency_businesses",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Money Services Business registration for crypto exchangers/money transmitters meeting FinCEN's MSB definition, with no minimum dollar-volume threshold, renewable every 24 months",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)",
     "source_url": "https://www.fincen.gov/resources/money-services-business-msb-registration",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "a federal registration regime for digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers under CFTC oversight; passed the House and cleared Senate committees but remained unenacted as of early August 2026",
     "instrument_type": "law",
     "source": "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/07/27/u-s-senate-puts-off-crypto-clarity-act-for-now-as-it-focuses-limited-bandwidth-elsewhere",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "token_classification",
   "name": "Token Classification",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/#token-classification-token-classification",
   "standing_position": "The March 2026 SEC/CFTC joint interpretive release establishes the first Commission-level token taxonomy, classifying digital commodities and payment stablecoins as generally non-securities, confirming continued securities-law application to tokenized securities, and setting fractionalization as the trigger distinguishing collectible NFTs from securitized fractional interests.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "non-securities: digital commodities deriving value from the programmatic operation of a functional crypto system (e.g., Bitcoin, Ether, Solana)",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / Commodity Futures Trading Commission",
     "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/capital-raising-building-blocks/crypto-assets-federal-securities-laws",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "generally not a security: a payment stablecoin used as a means of payment or settlement, subject to GENIUS Act terms",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission",
     "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/capital-raising-building-blocks/crypto-assets-federal-securities-laws",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "a 'digital security' (tokenized security) remains fully subject to federal securities laws regardless of its crypto-asset wrapper",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission",
     "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/capital-raising-building-blocks/crypto-assets-federal-securities-laws",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "digital collectibles (including NFTs) are generally not securities, unless fractionalized to enable fractional ownership interests, in which case they may be deemed securities",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission",
     "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/capital-raising-building-blocks/crypto-assets-federal-securities-laws",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "an EU-style Asset-Referenced Token / E-Money Token taxonomy; stablecoins are instead classified separately under the GENIUS Act's 'payment stablecoin' definition",
     "instrument_type": "regulation",
     "source": "U.S. federal crypto-asset framework",
     "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/capital-raising-building-blocks/crypto-assets-federal-securities-laws",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "on_chain_activity_regime",
   "name": "On-Chain Activity Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/#on-chain-activity-regime-on-chain-activity-regime",
   "standing_position": "Staking and mining have been excluded from securities-law scope, and tokenized real-world assets have been authorized as derivatives collateral. DeFi software-provider registration triggers and formal treatment of spot crypto trading on registered exchanges remain open rulemaking questions.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "airdrops, protocol staking, and protocol mining from the federal securities laws' investment-contract analysis; separate Commission guidance confirms liquid staking and proof-of-stake staking do not constitute securities transactions",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/03/17/u-s-sec-issues-first-ever-definitions-for-what-crypto-assets-are-securities",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "the Commission's reach into digital securities does not extend to protocol mining activity",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/03/17/u-s-sec-issues-first-ever-definitions-for-what-crypto-assets-are-securities",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "when DeFi software providers trigger CFTC registration requirements, a question unresolved as of March 2026",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Chairman Michael Selig)",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/03/10/cftc-chair-highlights-wide-crypto-agenda-including-rules-on-defi-prediction-markets",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "tokenized real-world assets, including U.S. Treasury securities and money market funds, to be used as collateral in derivatives markets, subject to conditions on legal enforceability, custody, segregation, and valuation",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Commodity Futures Trading Commission",
     "source_url": "https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9146-25",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "current U.S. law does not prohibit SEC- or CFTC-registered exchanges from facilitating trading of certain spot crypto asset products",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "SEC and CFTC staff (joint statement)",
     "source_url": "https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opapham19",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "stablecoin_regime",
   "name": "Stablecoin Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/#stablecoin-regime-stablecoin-regime",
   "standing_position": "The GENIUS Act's stablecoin issuer regime is enacted but implementing rules are overdue past the statutory one-year deadline, leaving the January 18, 2027 backstop as the operative trigger date. Challenger review downgraded four of five binding claims in this module from Confirmed to Probable after finding sole reliance on Tier-4 sourcing for materiality-5 claims despite unused Tier-1 statutory material.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "lawful payment-stablecoin issuance to U.S. customers to 'permitted payment stablecoin issuers' (bank subsidiaries, qualifying nonbanks approved by OCC/FDIC/NCUA, or qualifying state-regulated entities); non-permitted issuers are barred",
     "instrument_type": "law",
     "source": "GENIUS Act (Pub. L. 119-27)",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/406286/what-is-the-genius-act",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "permitted issuers to back every stablecoin one-to-one in high-quality liquid reserves and meet bank-style risk management and capital standards",
     "instrument_type": "law",
     "source": "GENIUS Act (Pub. L. 119-27)",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/406286/what-is-the-genius-act",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "permitted issuers to support redemption of stablecoins at par on demand; grants stablecoin holders priority over all other creditors in issuer insolvency",
     "instrument_type": "law",
     "source": "GENIUS Act (Pub. L. 119-27)",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/383653/2026-crypto-regulation-outlook",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "permitted issuers to publish monthly reserve disclosures, and issuers with market capitalization above $50 billion to obtain annual audits",
     "instrument_type": "law",
     "source": "GENIUS Act (Pub. L. 119-27)",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/406286/what-is-the-genius-act",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "'substantially similar' principles allowing qualifying stablecoin issuers with no more than $10 billion outstanding to remain under certified state supervision rather than the federal regime; proposal remains unfinished",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "U.S. Department of the Treasury",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/408843/us-regulators-miss-genius-acts-one-year-deadline-for-final-stablecoin-rules",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "consumer_protection",
   "name": "Consumer Protection",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/#consumer-protection-consumer-protection",
   "standing_position": "Consumer protections are fragmented across NY BitLicense capital/cybersecurity/custody standards, a not-yet-effective federal GENIUS Act disclosure requirement, and non-binding SEC staff custody guidance for crypto asset securities.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "BitLicense-regulated firms to meet strict capital-reserve, cybersecurity, compliance and consumer-protection standards, including custody controls",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/392650/jack-mallers-strike-scores-bitlicense-to-offer-new-yorkers-bitcoin-services",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "permitted payment stablecoin issuers to publish monthly reserve disclosures giving holders visibility into backing assets, once the statute becomes operative",
     "instrument_type": "law",
     "source": "GENIUS Act (Pub. L. 119-27)",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/406286/what-is-the-genius-act",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "guidance for broker-dealers on custody of 'crypto asset securities,' addressing consumer-facing custody standards for tokenized securities",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "SEC Division of Trading and Markets",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/383241/crypto-regulation-2026-sec-ambitious-agenda-empowered-cftc",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "tax_treatment",
   "name": "Tax Treatment",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/#tax-treatment-tax-treatment",
   "standing_position": "Form 1099-DA broker reporting is now operative, materially closing the prior self-disclosure gap; real-estate digital-asset reporting is also in force. Staking-reward tax timing remains a contested interpretive question, and no IRS.gov primary regulatory text was retrieved this cycle.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "crypto brokers (e.g., Coinbase, Kraken) to issue Form 1099-DA reporting gross proceeds from 2025 digital asset dispositions by February 2026, with cost-basis reporting for covered assets acquired on or after January 1, 2026 required from the 2026 tax year onward",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Internal Revenue Service",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/393574/irs-crypto-reporting-rules-set-stage-for-confusing-tax-season-heres-what-you-need-to-know",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "taxpayers to independently reconcile and report cost basis and resulting capital gains or losses via Form 8949, since Form 1099-DA reports only gross proceeds in its first reporting year",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Internal Revenue Service",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/02/18/american-crypto-holders-are-scared-and-confused-about-this-year-s-new-irs-tax-rules",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "'real estate reporting persons' to report the fair market value of digital assets used to fund real estate transactions occurring after January 1, 2026",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Internal Revenue Service",
     "source_url": "https://coindesk.com/policy/2024/06/28/us-treasury-issues-crypto-tax-regime-for-2025-delays-rules-for-non-custodians/amp",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "staking rewards as taxable at receipt as gross income, a position contested by industry commentators who argue rewards should be taxed only upon sale",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Internal Revenue Service",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2026/02/17/the-crypto-tax-reckoning-is-here",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "cross_border_transfer",
   "name": "Cross-Border Transfer",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/#cross-border-transfer-cross-border-transfer",
   "standing_position": "OFAC's first exchange-level SDN designations mark a sanctions-enforcement escalation against cross-border crypto flows. The GENIUS Act's foreign-issuer comparability regime and the joint FinCEN/OFAC PPSI sanctions-screening rule both remain unfinished.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "digital asset wallet addresses tied to sanctioned actors (Iran's central bank, ISIS-K) and, for the first time in January 2026, entire foreign-registered crypto exchanges (Zedcex and Zedxion) as Specially Designated Nationals under Iran-specific sanctions authority",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/01/31/u-s-imposes-sanctions-on-crypto-exchanges-tied-to-iran-for-first-time",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "payment-stablecoin issuance for the U.S. market to U.S.-domiciled firms or issuers from jurisdictions Treasury certifies as having a 'comparable' regulatory regime, complicating market access for non-U.S. issuers such as Tether",
     "instrument_type": "law",
     "source": "GENIUS Act (Pub. L. 119-27)",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/409203/largest-stablecoins-ranked",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "permitted payment stablecoin issuers to run risk-based sanctions screening for primary and secondary market activity and detect/reject transactions that may violate U.S. sanctions; remains a proposal",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "FinCEN / OFAC (joint proposed rule)",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/04/08/u-s-treasury-to-propose-demands-that-stablecoin-firms-be-set-to-police-bad-transactions",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "aml_cft_regime",
   "name": "AML/CFT Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/#aml-cft-regime-aml-cft-regime",
   "standing_position": "AML/CFT supervision for VASPs and stablecoin issuers, including travel-rule and sanctions-screening obligations, is consolidated under the financial-integrity monitor's subscription; this crypto baseline carries no original claims for this module by design.",
   "findings": []
  }
 ]
}