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United States

Americas · Developing

Most active enforcement environment; legislative clarity still incomplete.

DAI Methodology v2.1 Last updated Q2 2026
DAI Readiness Score™
78.0
out of 100
Regulatory & Enforcement Agencies

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

FinCEN

MSB registration and federal AML/BSA supervision

Official website Crypto / VASP section
VASP applications: YesSAR reports: Yes

Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC

Securities regulator — tokens deemed investment contracts

Official website Crypto / VASP section
VASP applications: NoSAR reports: No

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

CFTC

Crypto derivatives and commodity market oversight

Official website Crypto / VASP section
VASP applications: NoSAR reports: No

Office of Foreign Assets Control

OFAC

Sanctions designations, including wallet addresses on the SDN list

Official website Crypto / VASP section
VASP applications: NoSAR reports: No

FinCEN BSA E-Filing System

BSA E-Filing

Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filing portal

Official website
VASP applications: NoSAR reports: Yes

New York State Department of Financial Services

NYDFS

BitLicense issuance and state-level virtual currency supervision

Official website Crypto / VASP section
VASP applications: YesSAR reports: No
Regulatory status

Developing

Source
Primary regulator

SEC · CFTC · FinCEN · OCC · State regulators (e.g. NYDFS)

Source
Licensing requirements

Fragmented: SEC (securities), CFTC (commodities/derivatives), state money-transmitter licences, NY BitLicense.

Source
AML requirements

Bank Secrecy Act; FinCEN MSB registration; OFAC sanctions screening.

Source
Travel Rule status

Implemented — FinCEN $3,000 threshold; OFAC screening obligations layered on top.

Source
Tax treatment

IRS: property treatment; broker reporting (Form 1099-DA) from 2026.

Source
Consumer protection

CFPB, FTC, and state AGs share jurisdiction; mixed enforcement landscape.

Source
Key legislation
2024
FIT21 Act

Allocates jurisdiction between SEC and CFTC; pending Senate.

Source
2025
Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act

Federal stablecoin regime under congressional consideration.

Source
Recent developments
2026-05-28
SEC charges Meridian Yield $185m

Unregistered staking-as-a-service offering.

Source
2026-04-29
DOJ takes down Nimbus mixer

$340m conspiracy; first major post-Tornado prosecution under new theory.

Source
Primary Sources & Official Documents
  1. 01
    FinCEN Guidance FIN-2019-G001 — Convertible Virtual Currencies
    Financial Crimes Enforcement Network · 9 May 2019
    https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-and-regulations/guidance
  2. 02
    Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list — digital currency addresses
    Office of Foreign Assets Control · Live list
    https://ofac.treasury.gov/specially-designated-nationals-and-blocked-persons-list-sdn-human-readable-lists
  3. 03
    23 NYCRR Part 200 — Virtual Currencies (BitLicense)
    New York State Department of Financial Services · 2015, as amended
    https://www.dfs.ny.gov/virtual_currency_businesses
  4. 04
    SEC crypto asset enforcement actions and guidance
    Securities and Exchange Commission · Ongoing
    https://www.sec.gov/securities-topics/crypto-assets
  5. 05
    FATF Recommendations (including Recommendation 15 — new technologies)
    Financial Action Task Force · Updated periodically
    https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/topics/fatfrecommendations.html
  6. 06
    FATF Targeted Update on Implementation of the Standards on VAs and VASPs
    Financial Action Task Force · Annual
    https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfrecommendations.html
  7. 07
    High-Risk and Other Monitored Jurisdictions (grey and black lists)
    Financial Action Task Force · Updated three times a year
    https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions.html

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Professional disclaimerDigital Asset Intelligence content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, investment, or compliance advice. Regulatory positions change frequently; verify all material with primary sources and qualified counsel before relying on it for licensing, supervisory, or compliance decisions.