Crypto Law Profile
Nevada regulates virtual-currency transmission through NRS Chapter 671 and FID determinations. Licensing may apply to money transmission, stored value, fiat/digital currency transmission, or custody models.
As of June 9, 2026, Nevada’s virtual currency money transmission profile is best understood as a state money-transmission regime under Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 671, administered by the Nevada Financial Institutions Division. The regime is not a standalone crypto license. Instead, virtual-currency activity may fall within money transmission, authorized-delegate, or trust-company oversight depending on the flow of funds, custody function, and business model.
NRS Chapter 671 requires a person to hold a money transmission license, or act as an authorized delegate of a licensee, before engaging in or holding out as providing money transmission in Nevada. The licensing trigger applies regardless of whether the activity is conducted through a physical office, kiosk, internet platform, mobile device, telecommunications system, or other networked means.
The statute defines money transmission around three core activities: selling or issuing payment instruments to a person located in Nevada, selling or issuing stored value to a person located in Nevada, and receiving money or credits for transmission from a person located in Nevada. Chapter 671 also defines monetary value as a medium of exchange, whether or not redeemable in money, and defines stored value as monetary value evidenced by an electronic or digital record.
For crypto activity, the Nevada Financial Institutions Division has historically framed coverage as fact-specific. Its 2014 virtual-currency guidance warned that companies offering to exchange, administer, or maintain virtual currencies may be subject to state and federal regulation. A later FID cryptocurrency statement directed entities that facilitate transmission of, or hold, fiat or digital currency through brick-and-mortar, kiosk, mobile, internet, or other channels to seek a licensure determination. The same statement indicated that a digital custodian may be reviewed under Nevada trust-company law.
Nevada modernized Chapter 671 through AB 21, approved as Chapter 23 of the 2023 Statutes of Nevada and effective July 1, 2023. Those amendments aligned Nevada’s money-transmission framework with the Money Transmission Modernization Act model and added several current definitions, prudential standards, multistate supervision tools, and enforcement provisions.
A later 2025 amendment, AB 430, removed payroll processing services from the definition of money transmission and became effective October 1, 2025. That change is not a virtual-currency rule, but it matters for current Chapter 671 status because older summaries may still describe payroll processing as included. NRS 671.020 also has a future applicability version effective January 1, 2030, which editors should re-check during future updates.
This profile does not determine whether any particular crypto business needs a Nevada license. The key editorial point is that Nevada uses a functional money-transmission and custody analysis rather than a single crypto-specific license label. Firms handling customer fiat, credits, stored value, or digital currency for transfer or custody should treat Nevada coverage as a regulator-facing determination question, not a purely asset-label question.
NRS 671.040 bars engaging in or holding out as providing money transmission unless licensed or acting within a licensee’s authorized-delegate contract.
Money transmission covers payment instruments, stored value, and receiving money or credits for transmission from a person located in Nevada.
Chapter 671 defines monetary value as a medium of exchange and stored value as monetary value evidenced by an electronic or digital record.
FID guidance indicates virtual-currency exchanges, administrators, maintainers, custodians, or transmitters may need licensing depending on the model.
Licensees must maintain bond coverage, tangible net worth, and permissible investments tied to outstanding money transmission obligations.
Licensees and authorized delegates must file required federal currency, recordkeeping, suspicious activity, and money-laundering reports.
Nevada FID warned that virtual-currency businesses may be subject to state and federal regulation and licensing.
FID statement directed fiat or digital currency transmitters and custodians to seek a licensure determination.
Nevada approved Chapter 23, revising Chapter 671 money-transmission licensing and regulation.
Modernized NRS Chapter 671 money-transmission framework became operative.
Nevada removed payroll processing services from Chapter 671 money-transmission coverage.
Commissioner of Financial Institutions, Money transmitters, Nevada Financial Institutions Division
Cryptocurrency, Digital assets, Virtual currency
This profile treats Nevada’s virtual-currency coverage as a business-model-dependent overlay to the state money-transmission regime. It is not legal advice and should be reviewed against current FID determinations.
