CryptocurrencyRegulationsThe Global Digital Asset Law Monitor
The global register · reviewed August 12, 2026

Cryptocurrency regulation, marked to market.

Forty-five jurisdictions, 104 statutes and rulebooks, every status call cited to the primary source. This is the board.

45
Jurisdictions tracked
34
Countries + EU
11
US states
104
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🇦🇷ArgentinaAmericasComprehensiveFrom registry to rulebook in eighteen months
AU🇦🇺AustraliaAsia-PacificIn transitionFrom AML registration toward platform licensing
BR🇧🇷BrazilAmericasComprehensiveThe framework law found its teeth in February 2026
CA🇨🇦CanadaAmericasPartialSecurities law stretched over crypto, with stablecoin legislation promised
CL🇨🇱ChileAmericasComprehensiveThe Fintech Law folded crypto into financial regulation
CN🇨🇳ChinaAsia-PacificProhibitedA comprehensive ban beside the world's largest CBDC pilot
CO🇨🇴ColombiaAmericasNo dedicated regimeHigh adoption, repeated bills, no law
EG🇪🇬EgyptAfricaProhibitedA statutory ban with a license clause no one has used
SV🇸🇻El SalvadorAmericasComprehensiveLegal tender walked back, the issuance framework kept
EU🇪🇺European UnionEuropeComprehensiveMiCA is fully in force, and the grace period is over
HK🇭🇰Hong KongAsia-PacificComprehensiveLicensed exchanges, licensed stablecoins, and a tokenization push
IN🇮🇳IndiaAsia-PacificPartialTaxed and surveilled, but still no framework
ID🇮🇩IndonesiaAsia-PacificComprehensiveSupervision moved from the commodities agency to the OJK
IL🇮🇱IsraelMiddle EastPartialLicensed service providers, taxed gains, framework still assembling
JP🇯🇵JapanAsia-PacificComprehensiveThe oldest licensing regime, now migrating to securities law
KE🇰🇪KenyaAfricaIn transitionA new VASP statute splits the field between central bank and markets authority
MY🇲🇾MalaysiaAsia-PacificComprehensiveDigital assets as securities, exchanges as recognized markets
MX🇲🇽MexicoAmericasPartialA fintech law that fenced crypto out of the regulated system
NZ🇳🇿New ZealandAsia-PacificPartialFair-dealing law, AML coverage, and a crypto-ATM ban
NG🇳🇬NigeriaAfricaPartialFrom banking ban to securities statute, with enforcement whiplash
PH🇵🇭PhilippinesAsia-PacificComprehensiveTwo regulators, one perimeter: BSP for VASPs, SEC for offerings
RU🇷🇺RussiaEuropeRestrictiveBanned for domestic payments, licensed for mining, deployed for sanctions workarounds
SA🇸🇦Saudi ArabiaMiddle EastRestrictiveOfficial discouragement, sandbox experimentation, quiet retail adoption
SG🇸🇬SingaporeAsia-PacificComprehensiveFull licensing at home, and since 2025 a hard line on offshore-only firms
ZA🇿🇦South AfricaAfricaComprehensiveCrypto declared a financial product; hundreds of firms licensed
KR🇰🇷South KoreaAsia-PacificPartialPhase one protects users; phase two is stuck on stablecoins
CH🇨🇭SwitzerlandEuropeComprehensiveThe DLT Act model: integrate, don't quarantine
TW🇹🇼TaiwanAsia-PacificIn transitionAML registration now, a full VASP statute in the legislature
TH🇹🇭ThailandAsia-PacificComprehensiveA 2018 code, tightened for fraud and sweetened for tax
TR🇹🇷TürkiyeEuropeComprehensiveA licensing regime built fast, atop a payments ban
AE🇦🇪United Arab EmiratesMiddle EastComprehensiveFour regulators, one strategy: license everything, attract everyone
UK🇬🇧United KingdomEuropeIn transitionThe rulebook is written; the regime switches on October 25, 2027
US🇺🇸United StatesAmericasPartialOne federal crypto statute in force, a second one floor vote away
VN🇻🇳VietnamAsia-PacificIn transitionFirst legal recognition, and a five-year market pilot
AZArizonaUS StatePartialA budget-neutral reserve from unclaimed property, after vetoes of the bolder bills
CACaliforniaUS StateComprehensiveDFAL is live: license, pending application, or exit
CTConnecticutUS StatePartialThe counter-model: no state crypto holdings, tighter transmission rules
FLFloridaUS StatePartialMoney transmission with a virtual currency definition, and not much more, by choice
ILIllinoisUS StateIn transitionA Midwest BitLicense, enacted and phasing in
LALouisianaUS StateComprehensiveA dedicated virtual currency license, quietly in force since 2023
NHNew HampshireUS StatePartialExempt from transmission law, and first to fund a state crypto reserve
NJNew JerseyUS StateNo dedicated regimeBig market, borrowed rules: still no bespoke statute
NYNew YorkUS StateComprehensiveThe BitLicense: strictest in the nation since 2015
TXTexasUS StatePartialMiner-friendly grid, exchange reserve rules, and a funded state bitcoin reserve
WYWyomingUS StateComprehensiveThe laboratory: SPDI banks, DAO law, and a state-issued stablecoin

The map in one paragraph: 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 and a market-structure bill one floor vote from passage. 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, Brazil put its central bank in charge in February 2026, and China's ban still shapes everything around it.

This week on the Tape

August 8, 2026United States

Senate files cloture on the CLARITY Act, teeing up a floor vote in September

Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed a cloture motion on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, in the final hours before the August recess. The move came too late for a summer floor vote but …

July 1, 2026California

California's Digital Financial Assets Law goes operative; unlicensed activity now carries penalties of up to $100,000 per day

DFAL licensing took effect on July 1. Any business engaging in digital financial asset activity with or on behalf of a California resident must hold a DFPI license, have a completed application pending, or qualify for an exemption…

July 1, 2026European Union

MiCA's grandfathering window closes: CASPs without authorization can no longer serve the EU

The transitional period under Article 143(3) of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation ended on July 1, 2026. Crypto-asset service providers that operated under national regimes but did not obtain a MiCA authorization must cease …

June 30, 2026United Kingdom

FCA publishes final rules for the UK cryptoasset regime (PS26/9–PS26/13)

The FCA released five policy statements finalizing rules on admissions and disclosures, market abuse, stablecoin issuance, regulated cryptoasset activities, and prudential requirements, plus guidance on the consumer duty, internat…

June 22, 2026United Kingdom

Bank of England finalizes its approach to sterling systemic stablecoins

The Bank published a policy statement on regulating sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins alongside a consultation on a draft Code of Practice, settling how issuers whose coins reach systemic scale will be supervised in coordi…

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
2026-09-30AheadUnited KingdomUK authorisation gateway opens
FCA begins accepting applications under the new cryptoasset regime.
2026-09-30AheadUnited StatesSenate window for CLARITY floor action
Cloture filed August 8; leadership targets floor consideration when the Senate returns, before the midterm calendar closes.
2027-01-18AheadUnited StatesGENIUS Act outside effective date
Stablecoin framework effective no later than 18 months after enactment (earlier if final rules land first).
2027-10-25AheadUnited KingdomUK cryptoasset regime in force
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 commence; FCA authorization required.

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, S…

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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 rests on the CLARITY Act, now one floo…

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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 1099-D…

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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, the…

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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 r…

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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, pl…

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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 establishing SEC and CFTC market-structure jurisdiction awaits a Senate floor vote expected in September 2026, 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). Russia and Saudi Arabia are restrictive rather than prohibitionist: holding is lawful but core activity is barred or channelled through narrow state-controlled routes.

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. Compliance obligations bite by January 2027 at the latest. 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: August 12, 2026. Corrections: contact.