Wisconsin Bill Seeks to Exempt Crypto Activities From Money Transmitter Laws

Wisconsin lawmakers introduced legislation Monday that would shield crypto users and businesses from state licensing requirements, just months after the state dumped its entire $300 million Bitcoin ETF stake.

Assembly Bill 471, a moderate bipartisan measure with nine sponsors, would exempt individuals and businesses from money transmitter licensing when accepting cryptocurrency payments, using self-hosted wallets, running blockchain nodes, developing software, or participating in staking operations.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Financial Institutions, where it now awaits review. The legislation explicitly bars state agencies and political subdivisions from prohibiting or restricting these activities.

The measure would create exemptions for anyone “operating a node or a series of nodes on a blockchain,” “effectuating the exchange of one digital asset for another digital asset if there is no exchange of digital assets for legal tender,” “developing software on a blockchain,” or engaged in “digital asset mining or staking,” according to the bill text.

Under the legislation, state agencies and local governments wouldn’t be able to “prohibit, restrict, or otherwise impair” residents from accepting digital assets as payment or taking custody of crypto “using a self-hosted wallet or hardware wallet.”

“If this bill passes, it’ll help attract more crypto-native businesses to Wisconsin—think DEXs, staking providers, and other fully on-chain platforms,” Ruchir Gupta, co-founder of Gyld Finance, told Decrypt. “Just as importantly, it sets a useful precedent for other states by showing what regulatory clarity can look like.”

Gupta cautioned the legislation wouldn’t fundamentally transform crypto operations since “most providers operate across multiple states and will still be subject to FinCEN registration and compliance.”

He noted the bill “doesn’t really impact banks and payment processors,” since on- and off-ramps continue to operate under existing money transmitter licenses.

Wisconsin and crypto

In May, SEC filings revealed that the State of Wisconsin Investment Board quietly liquidated its entire $300 million stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust during Q1 2025, just ahead of tariff-driven market turmoil that sent Bitcoin below $75,000.

In August, the state’s Democratic lawmakers introduced twin bills requiring money transmitter licenses for crypto kiosks, citing a 99% surge in fraud complaints that cost victims nearly $247 million in 2024.