Digital Currency Overview & Legal Landscape

Digital or virtual currencies are a medium of exchange but are not traditional money and are not backed by governments or central banks. They exist only digitally and are used for fast, low-cost, global, and relatively anonymous electronic payments without banks or physical cash.

Digital currencies are stored in digital wallets that use encrypted public and private keys. Transactions are recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain and verified by miners worldwide using specialized hardware. Miners are rewarded with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple, Dogecoin, and Litecoin.

In the 2025 legislative session, at least 40 states introduced or considered cryptocurrency-related legislation.

Examples of enacted legislation include:

• Arizona: Regulated crypto kiosks and created a digital assets reserve fund.
• Arkansas: Excluded central bank digital currency from the UCC definition of money.
• Georgia: Created a study committee on AI and digital currency.
• Iowa: Defined fees for digital asset kiosks.
• Michigan: Declared May 13, 2025, Digital Asset Awareness Day.
• Montana & Wyoming: Prohibited use or support of central bank digital currency.
• Nebraska & North Dakota: Regulated or licensed virtual currency kiosks.
• Oregon & South Dakota: Updated commercial and unclaimed property laws for digital assets.
• Oregon added an article regulating controllable electronic records to its Uniform Commercial Code.
• Utah: Allowed limited public investment in digital assets.