# Is Bitcoin regulated in the United States? *Reviewed 2026-07-31* ## Short answer The Bitcoin network itself is not regulated by any US agency, but the businesses and activities around it are. Exchanges, custodial wallets, and payment platforms that handle Bitcoin for customers are money services businesses under FinCEN rules and money transmitters under state law. The CFTC treats Bitcoin as a commodity, so Bitcoin derivatives are regulated futures products, and the IRS taxes Bitcoin as property. What no regulator does is license or approve Bitcoin itself. Bitcoin regulation in the US is regulation at the on-ramps and off-ramps. The protocol is open software; running a node or mining is not a licensed activity. The moment a business holds or moves Bitcoin for someone else, the regulatory stack attaches: FinCEN MSB registration and a BSA/AML program federally, and a money transmitter license in most states where customers live. New York layers the BitLicense on top for virtual currency business activity involving its residents. Agency jurisdiction splits by product. The CFTC classifies Bitcoin as a commodity and regulates futures and other derivatives on it. The SEC's securities framework generally does not treat Bitcoin itself as a security, though it governs many other tokens and investment products. The IRS treats it as property for tax purposes. For a business, the practical question is not "is Bitcoin regulated" but "does my activity trigger licensing", which is mapped at crypto laws and regulation in the US and the crypto money transmitter question. ## Related - [Crypto laws and regulation in the US](/crypto-regulation) - [Cryptocurrency licensing](/cryptocurrency-licensing) - [New York BitLicense](/new-york-bitlicense) - [Talk with our team](/contact) --- ## How to cite this page Cite as: "Is Bitcoin regulated in the United States?." Cornerstone Licensing. https://cornerstonelicensing.com/answers/is-bitcoin-regulated Published by Cornerstone Licensing. When quoting figures or legal requirements, link the canonical URL above and note the last-updated date (2026-07-31). The full content index for this site is at https://cornerstonelicensing.com/llms.txt.