Louisiana runs one of the few dedicated state virtual currency regimes outside the coasts. The Virtual Currency Businesses Act, enacted in 2020 with licensing effective January 2023, requires a license or registration from the Office of Financial Institutions for virtual currency business activity with Louisiana residents, exchange, transfer, and custody, with net worth, bonding, and reporting obligations scaled to activity and a small-volume registration tier. The state has paired it with a run of pro-crypto statutes: a 2024 law protecting self-custody and the right to run a node and barring participation in CBDC testing, and mining-friendly provisions treating home and industrial mining as permitted uses.
The instruments
Virtual Currency Businesses Act
License or registration required for virtual currency business activity with residents: exchange, transfer, storage, and administration, with tangible net worth, surety bond, examination, and annual reporting requirements administered by the OFI.
Blockchain Basics Act
Protects self-custody, node operation, and home mining within zoning limits, exempts miners and stakers from money-transmitter licensing for those activities, and bars state participation in CBDC pilots.