CryptocurrencyRegulationsThe Global Digital Asset Law Monitor
The global register · reviewed November 2, 2026

Cryptocurrency regulation, marked to market.

Forty-five jurisdictions, 120 statutes and rulebooks, every status call cited to the primary source. This is the board.

45
Jurisdictions tracked
34
Countries + EU
11
US states
120
Instruments on file
▲20
Comprehensive
✕2
Prohibited

The register

Every tracked country and state, graded on a six-point scale from ▲ comprehensive to ✕ prohibited. Click through for the statutes, the regulators, and the penalty exposure.

45 of 45 shown
SymJurisdictionRegionStatusSignal
AR🇦🇷ArgentinaAmericas▲ComprehensiveFrom registry to rulebook in eighteen months
AU🇦🇺AustraliaAsia-Pacific◆In transitionPlatform licensing enacted, switching on in April 2027
BR🇧🇷BrazilAmericas▲ComprehensiveThe framework law found its teeth in February 2026
CA🇨🇦CanadaAmericas▶PartialSecurities law stretched over crypto, and a federal stablecoin statute waiting to start
CL🇨🇱ChileAmericas▲ComprehensiveThe Fintech Law folded crypto into financial regulation
CN🇨🇳ChinaAsia-Pacific✕ProhibitedA comprehensive ban beside the world's largest CBDC pilot
CO🇨🇴ColombiaAmericas–No dedicated regimeHigh adoption, repeated bills, no law
EG🇪🇬EgyptAfrica✕ProhibitedA statutory ban with a license clause no one has used
SV🇸🇻El SalvadorAmericas▲ComprehensiveLegal tender walked back, the issuance framework kept
EU🇪🇺European UnionEurope▲ComprehensiveMiCA is fully in force, and the grace period is over
HK🇭🇰Hong KongAsia-Pacific▲ComprehensiveLicensed exchanges, licensed stablecoins, and a tokenization push
IN🇮🇳IndiaAsia-Pacific▶PartialTaxed and surveilled, but still no framework
ID🇮🇩IndonesiaAsia-Pacific▲ComprehensiveSupervision moved from the commodities agency to the OJK
IL🇮🇱IsraelMiddle East▶PartialLicensed service providers, taxed gains, framework still assembling
JP🇯🇵JapanAsia-Pacific▲ComprehensiveThe oldest licensing regime, now migrating to securities law
KE🇰🇪KenyaAfrica◆In transitionA new VASP statute splits the field between central bank and markets authority
MY🇲🇾MalaysiaAsia-Pacific▲ComprehensiveDigital assets as securities, exchanges as recognized markets
MX🇲🇽MexicoAmericas▶PartialA fintech law that fenced crypto out of the regulated system
NZ🇳🇿New ZealandAsia-Pacific▶PartialFair-dealing law, AML coverage, and guardrails for crypto ATMs
NG🇳🇬NigeriaAfrica▶PartialFrom banking ban to securities statute, with enforcement whiplash
PH🇵🇭PhilippinesAsia-Pacific▲ComprehensiveTwo regulators, one perimeter: BSP for VASPs, SEC for offerings
RU🇷🇺RussiaEurope◆In transitionTrading legalized through licensed intermediaries, payments still banned
SA🇸🇦Saudi ArabiaMiddle East▼RestrictiveOfficial discouragement, sandbox experimentation, quiet retail adoption
SG🇸🇬SingaporeAsia-Pacific▲ComprehensiveFull licensing at home, and since 2025 a hard line on offshore-only firms
ZA🇿🇦South AfricaAfrica▲ComprehensiveCrypto declared a financial product; hundreds of firms licensed
KR🇰🇷South KoreaAsia-Pacific▶PartialPhase one protects users; phase two is stuck on stablecoins
CH🇨🇭SwitzerlandEurope▲ComprehensiveThe DLT Act model: integrate, don't quarantine
TW🇹🇼TaiwanAsia-Pacific◆In transitionAML registration now, a licensing statute passed and awaiting its start date
TH🇹🇭ThailandAsia-Pacific▲ComprehensiveA 2018 code, tightened for fraud and sweetened for tax
TR🇹🇷TürkiyeEurope▲ComprehensiveA licensing regime built fast, atop a payments ban
AE🇦🇪United Arab EmiratesMiddle East▲ComprehensiveFour regulators, one strategy: license everything, attract everyone
UK🇬🇧United KingdomEurope◆In transitionThe rulebook is written; the regime switches on October 25, 2027
US🇺🇸United StatesAmericas▶PartialOne federal statute in force, a second stalled in the Senate, and the agencies writing the rulebook themselves
VN🇻🇳VietnamAsia-Pacific◆In transitionFirst legal recognition, and a five-year market pilot
AZArizonaUS State▶PartialA budget-neutral reserve from unclaimed property, after vetoes of the bolder bills
CACaliforniaUS State▲ComprehensiveDFAL is live: license, pending application, or exit
CTConnecticutUS State▶PartialThe counter-model: no state crypto holdings, tighter transmission rules
FLFloridaUS State▶PartialMoney transmission for exchanges, and a 2026 state license for stablecoin issuers
ILIllinoisUS State◆In transitionA Midwest BitLicense, enacted and phasing in
LALouisianaUS State▲ComprehensiveA dedicated virtual currency license, quietly in force since 2023
NHNew HampshireUS State▶PartialExempt from transmission law, and first to authorize a state crypto reserve
NJNew JerseyUS State–No dedicated regimeBig market, borrowed rules: still no bespoke statute
NYNew YorkUS State▲ComprehensiveThe BitLicense: strictest in the nation since 2015
TXTexasUS State▶PartialMiner-friendly grid, exchange reserve rules, and a funded state bitcoin reserve
WYWyomingUS State▲ComprehensiveThe laboratory: SPDI banks, DAO law, and a state-issued stablecoin

The EU runs the only continental single rulebook, and its last grandfathering window closed on July 1, 2026. The United States has its first federal statute in the GENIUS Act, its first SEC crypto offering rule proposed on August 18, an SEC innovation exemption for tokenized stocks since September 17, and a market-structure bill that stalled in the Senate on September 15. The UK finalized its rules in June 2026 and turns them on in October 2027. Asia's licensing capitals, Tokyo, Singapore, and Hong Kong, keep tightening while competing for the same institutions, Japan has voted to move crypto into securities law, Brazil put its central bank in charge in February 2026, and China's ban still shapes everything around it.

This week on the Tape

November 2, 2026Russia

Moscow Exchange sets December 1 for the start of crypto trading

Moscow Exchange said it plans to let financial market participants trade digital currencies from December 1, 2026, starting with pilot trades and connecting participants as they are ready. Bitcoin, ether, and USDT will trade…

November 2, 2026South Korea

South Korea urges exchanges to tighten wallet security after the Binance hack

After Binance announced on October 30, Korean time, that about US$6.3 billion in crypto had left its hot wallet without authorization, the FSC convened the Financial Supervisory Service, the Financial Security Institute…

November 2, 2026Hong Kong

Hong Kong will put its crypto services licensing bill to the legislature before year-end

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury said the government will introduce to the Legislative Council before the end of 2026 a bill to regulate virtual asset advisory, dealing, custody, and management services.

November 2, 2026United Kingdom

HMRC keeps May 31, 2027 for the first UK crypto-asset reports as its online service slips

HMRC said its online service for crypto-asset reporting will not be available by January 1, 2027 and removed that start date for submitting reports. Reporting cryptoasset service providers must still submit their first report…

October 30, 2026Global

FATF launches a targeted review of how countries implement its virtual asset standard

At its plenary in Paris, FATF approved a targeted review of how countries implement Recommendation 15, its standard for virtual assets and their service providers, with results due at the June 2027 plenary, according to South…

Full digest →

Next on the calendar

Compliance dates and effective dates ahead. The full timeline back to 2024 is on the deadline calendar.

DateStatusJurisdictionWhat happens
2026-11-03AheadUnited StatesComments close: SEC transfer agent rules
Proposed overhaul of the transfer agent rules, including provisions on tokenized securities and distributed-ledger recordkeeping (Release 34-106246, 91 FR 56946).
2026-11-04AheadHong KongHong Kong LegCo resumes debate on the crypto reporting bill
Second reading of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and Amended Common Reporting Standard) Bill 2026 resumes.
2026-11-04AheadKenyaKenyan licensing deadline for existing VASPs
Providers operating when the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2025 commenced must comply with it, including holding a licence from the Central Bank of Kenya or the Capital Markets Authority.
2026-11-04AheadUnited StatesComments close: FinCEN A7 special measure
Proposed rule under the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act barring transmittals of funds involving the sub-agents of the A7 network (91 FR 63208).
2026-11-06AheadBrazilBrazilian institutions cut off unauthorized providers
Resolution BCB 589: authorized institutions may no longer operate with virtual asset providers that lack BCB authorization; the amended rule no longer mentions providers still in the authorization process.
2026-11-10AheadFloridaFlorida stablecoin rules: hearing request deadline
Last day to request a public hearing on the OFR's proposed rules for qualified payment stablecoin issuers (Notice 31477002).

Eight lanes to watch

The register cut by subject rather than geography.

01

Stablecoins

The most-regulated corner of crypto. Dedicated issuer regimes are now law in the United States (GENIUS Act), the EU (MiCA Titles III–IV), Hong Kong…

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02

Market structure & exchanges

Who licenses the venue, and which assets are securities. The EU answered with MiCA's CASP regime; the US answer rested on the CLARITY Act until it…

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03

AML & the travel rule

The oldest and most universal layer. FATF's Recommendation 15 and travel rule set the baseline nearly everywhere; the EU enforces from the first euro…

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04

Taxation & reporting

Reporting is going global. The OECD's CARF standard reaches first exchanges in 2027; the EU's DAC8 is live as of January 2026; US brokers began…

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05

Custody & consumer protection

The post-FTX agenda: segregation of client assets, bankruptcy priority, reserve attestations, and cold-storage minimums, written into VAUPA, MiCA…

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06

DeFi & DAOs

The unsolved perimeter. The Senate's 2026 CLARITY text carries the first US statutory DeFi framework; the EU deferred DeFi to MiCA's review; Wyoming…

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07

CBDCs & public crypto holdings

Two opposite state postures: banning a retail CBDC (US House, July 2025) while stockpiling bitcoin (the March 2025 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve order…

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08

Mining & energy

Mining migrated to law-friendly grids after China's 2021 ban: US states passed right-to-mine statutes, Russia legalized and licensed industrial mining…

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The US state tracker

Federal law is only half the American answer. Eleven state regimes, from the BitLicense to Texas's funded bitcoin reserve: Arizona · California · Connecticut · Florida · Illinois · Louisiana · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New York · Texas · Wyoming. Overview on the state tracker.

Straight answers

Which countries have comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation in 2026?

20 of the 45 jurisdictions in this register run a dedicated licensing framework that is in force, including the European Union under MiCA, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, Switzerland, Brazil, and Türkiye. The United Kingdom is in transition: its rules are final but the regime takes full effect in October 2027.

Is cryptocurrency legal in the United States?

Yes. Buying, holding, and trading crypto is legal in all 50 states. The GENIUS Act regulates payment stablecoin issuers at the federal level, the CLARITY Act, which would divide market-structure jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC, stalled when the Senate rejected cloture on September 15, 2026; the SEC proposed its first crypto offering rule on August 18 and issued an innovation exemption for tokenized stocks on September 17; and state licensing applies through regimes like New York’s BitLicense and California’s DFAL. See US crypto law, answered.

What is MiCA and who does it apply to?

The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 is the EU’s single rulebook: it licenses crypto-asset service providers and stablecoin issuers across all 27 member states, fully applicable since December 30, 2024, with the last national grandfathering periods ended on July 1, 2026. It applies to any firm serving EU customers, wherever incorporated. Full analysis on the EU page and in MiCA vs the US.

Which countries ban cryptocurrency?

Outright prohibitions among tracked jurisdictions: China (all trading, issuance, and mining) and Egypt (statutory ban with an unused licensing clause). Saudi Arabia is restrictive rather than prohibitionist: holding is lawful but core activity is barred or channelled through narrow state-controlled routes. Russia left that category in September 2026, when a new law legalized trading through licensed intermediaries while keeping domestic crypto payments banned.

What is the GENIUS Act?

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, signed July 18, 2025, is the first US federal crypto statute: payment stablecoin issuers must be licensed federally or under certified state regimes, hold 1:1 reserves in cash and Treasuries, publish monthly reserve disclosures, and may not pay yield on the coin itself. Licensing obligations take effect January 18, 2027, and from July 18, 2028 service providers may not offer unlicensed payment stablecoins to US persons. The OCC adopted the first final rule setting issuer requirements on October 21, 2026, effective with the Act on January 18, 2027, and the Federal Reserve’s proposals are open for comment until November 30. Details on the US page.

How is this register maintained?

Every jurisdiction page cites primary sources: statutes, regulator rulebooks, and official gazettes. Status calls follow a six-grade scale explained on each page, and the full dataset is published machine-readable at register.json and llms-full.txt. Last full review: November 2, 2026. Corrections: contact.