Crypto exchange licence USA: which exchanges are licensed

A crypto exchange is allowed to serve you in the US when it holds the right licences for where you live: a federal registration with FinCEN as a money services business, money transmitter licences from the states it serves, and a BitLicense or trust charter for New York. Of the exchanges in our data, Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini clearly hold US licences, but Kraken’s list doesn’t include New York.

This page explains how a crypto exchange licence works in the US crypto market, which crypto businesses need one and how to check a licence yourself. For our ranked comparison of the same exchanges, see the best crypto exchange for US residents.

Brokers & Exchanges focuses on Europe, so we keep US regulation high level, based on FinCEN, NYDFS, California DFPI and IRS pages and our provider data, all checked on 23 October 2026. Crypto prices are volatile, and a licence doesn’t stop you losing all the money you invest.

Licensed crypto exchanges in the US at a glance

Three crypto exchanges in our data clearly serve US residents with US licences we could check. The table shows the legal entity behind each one, because that is the name you look up in a regulator’s register.

Exchange	US legal entity	Licences in our data	New York
Coinbase	Coinbase, Inc.	NY BitLicense 122466, state money transmitter licences; Coinbase Derivatives, LLC is a CFTC designated contract market	Yes
Kraken	Payward Interactive, Inc.	FinCEN MSB registration, state money transmitter licences (state MTLs)	No
Gemini	Gemini Trust Company, LLC	New York limited purpose trust company supervised by NYDFS; Gemini Titan, LLC is a CFTC designated contract market	Yes

Coinbase: BitLicense plus state licences

Coinbase holds the broadest set of US licences in our data. Coinbase, Inc. holds New York BitLicense 122466 and state money transmitter licences, Coinbase Derivatives, LLC is a CFTC-registered designated contract market, and as a listed company since April 2021 Coinbase publishes quarterly financial statements. It offers 400+ crypto assets.

• Fees: Advanced Trade starts at 0.60% maker and 1.20% taker (the entry tier as reported by NerdWallet; Coinbase shows its rates only after sign-in). Simple buys add a spread plus a fee shown before you confirm.
• Regulatory compliance record: Coinbase agreed a $100 million settlement with NYDFS in 2023 (a $50 million penalty plus $50 million for its compliance programme) over AML compliance and identity-check failures. In 2025 the SEC dismissed its 2023 lawsuit, and a data breach via bribed support staff exposed about 69,000 customers.

Read our Coinbase review.

Kraken: state licences, but not New York

Kraken holds US state licences, but none for New York. Payward Interactive, Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and holds state money transmitter licences, and New York is not on its list.

• Fees: Kraken Pro charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at the entry tier since a July 2026 change; app buys cost 1% plus a spread.
• Customer verification: funding limits depend on your verification level, and your bank account must be in the same name as your Kraken account.
• Compliance record: Kraken paid $30 million in 2023 to settle SEC charges over its US staking-as-a-service programme, and the SEC’s separate 2023 lawsuit was dismissed in March 2025.

See our Kraken review or Coinbase vs Kraken.

Gemini: New York trust company

Gemini serves US residents through a New York-chartered trust company rather than a BitLicense. Gemini Trust Company, LLC is a limited purpose trust company supervised by NYDFS, and Gemini Titan, LLC is a CFTC designated contract market for its prediction markets. Gemini says it stores digital assets in offline cold storage with hardware security modules.

• Fees: ActiveTrader starts at 0.60% maker and 1.20% taker; debit card purchases cost 3.49% and PayPal 2.50%.
• Compliance record: when lending partner Genesis froze withdrawals in November 2022, Gemini Earn users’ assets were locked until mid-2024. A 2024 NYDFS consent order added a $37 million penalty, and in April 2026 the New York Attorney General sued Gemini Titan over its prediction markets.

Gemini closed all its UK and EEA accounts on 6 April 2026, which is why we don’t link to it from this Europe-focused site. Read our Gemini review or Kraken vs Gemini.

What a licensed exchange costs: a worked example

A licence doesn’t make trading cheap. On a $1,000 market order at entry-level taker fees you pay $8.00 at Kraken Pro (0.80%), $12.00 at Coinbase Advanced (1.20%) and $12.00 at Gemini ActiveTrader (1.20%). A limit order pays the maker fee instead: $4.00 at Kraken Pro, or $6.00 at Coinbase and Gemini. Buying the same $1,000 with a debit card at Gemini adds $34.90 (3.49%).

Is there a USA crypto licence? How exchange licensing works

There is no single US crypto licence and no single, clear regulatory framework: a cryptocurrency exchange needs a federal registration plus state licences, and extra permissions depending on its business model. What people call a crypto licence in America is really this stack of registrations and licences, and the compliance requirements differ from state to state. Federal agencies split the work, with FinCEN covering anti-money-laundering rules under the Bank Secrecy Act, the SEC securities and the CFTC derivatives.

Federal registration: FinCEN money services business

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires each money services business (MSB) to register with the US Treasury, with few exceptions. The owner or controlling person files FinCEN Form 107 within 180 days of the business being set up, and the registration must be renewed every two years.

• A firm must re-register within 180 days after certain changes, such as a change in ownership or control.
• Money transmitters have no dollar threshold, so even small crypto platforms that transmit money are covered.
• Banks and persons regulated by the SEC or CFTC are excluded from the MSB definition.
• Failing to register can bring civil and criminal penalties.

FinCEN registration is a federal filing with regulatory obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act, such as AML compliance through customer identity checks and transaction monitoring. It is not a state licence, so it doesn’t let a crypto platform serve customers in every state on its own. Renewals and re-registration make it ongoing compliance, not a one-off step.

State money transmitter licences

States license money transmission services themselves, so an exchange needs licences in multiple jurisdictions to serve the whole country, and must maintain compliance with each state’s applicable laws to keep serving its customers there. Coinbase and Kraken list their state money transmitter licences, and Gate US publishes its NMLS ID (2272810) and the states it covers, which shows how coverage can stop at some state lines.

New York BitLicense from NYDFS

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) requires a BitLicense for any Virtual Currency Business Activity involving New York or New York State residents, including by firms based in other states. A New York-chartered bank or trust company can conduct virtual currency business without a BitLicense if it has regulatory approval from the Superintendent, which is how Gemini operates. Either way, the firm stays under NYDFS supervision, which makes it ongoing compliance rather than a one-off approval.

NYDFS publishes a list of regulated entities by licence type (virtual currency licence, money transmitter licence or limited purpose trust charter) and year granted; Coinbase, Inc. and Gemini Trust Company, LLC are on it.

California DFAL

Since 1 July 2026, anyone doing digital financial asset business with California residents needs a licence under the Digital Financial Assets Law, unless exempt. The licensing process runs through NMLS, firms that filed a complete application by that date can keep operating while they wait, and licences from other states don’t count. The deadline was originally 1 July 2025, until a 2024 law (AB 1934) moved it back a year, a reminder that these are evolving regulations.

SEC, CFTC and the business model

Which other regulators matter depends on the exchange’s business model. In 2025 the SEC dismissed its lawsuits against Coinbase, Kraken and Binance, and in March 2025 it closed its investigation into Crypto.com without enforcement action. For derivatives, Coinbase Derivatives and Gemini Titan are CFTC designated contract markets.

Stablecoins and the GENIUS Act

The GENIUS Act, signed on 18 July 2025, allows only permitted payment stablecoin issuers to issue payment stablecoins in the US; other virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, fall outside it. It regulates stablecoin token issuance, not exchanges, and says payment stablecoins are not securities or commodities and are not federally insured. The GENIUS Act’s rules apply 18 months after signing or 120 days after regulators issue final rules, whichever comes first.

What a BitLicense requires of an exchange, and what that means for you

A BitLicense comes with ongoing rules under the Virtual Currency Regulation (23 NYCRR Part 200), and most of them exist to protect customers. This is what NYDFS says licensed firms must do, based on its BitLicense pages, its consent orders and the Superintendent’s statement of 19 April 2023.

• Your coins are held one for one. Firms must hold virtual currency of the same type and amount as they owe customers. DFS’s custody guidance of 30 September 2025 adds that customer coins must be segregated from company assets, that the beneficial interest stays with the customer and that firms should not use customer coins for their own purposes. Licensees also need a surety bond or a funded account, generally of at least $500,000.
• There is a capital buffer. Required capital is set per business model, including custody, transmitted volume and wind-down costs. Firms must keep at least 110% of it at all times and tell DFS immediately if they fall below.
• Someone is responsible for AML compliance. The written AML programme must rest on a risk assessment of legal, compliance, financial and reputational risks, and needs board approval, internal controls, independent testing, ongoing training and a qualified individual responsible for day-to-day compliance, and firms must monitor for transactions that might signify money laundering. For you, that explains the identity checks and the questions about unusual transfers.
• Security is a board-level duty. The cybersecurity policy must be approved by the board at least annually, cybersecurity events must be reported to DFS within 72 hours, and firms need a business continuity and disaster recovery plan.
• You get disclosures, receipts and a complaints route. Firms must explain material risks, terms and conditions in clear, conspicuous and legible writing, warn that an executed transaction cannot be undone, get your acknowledgement and give you a receipt. They must also resolve complaints in a fair and timely manner.
• DFS checks. Licensees file financial reports, and DFS regularly examines them and can impose civil penalties.

None of this protects you from price falls, and it applies to the firm’s New York business. Check which entity holds your account.

Do you need a crypto licence to buy crypto? Crypto businesses vs investors

No. Licences are for crypto businesses, not for people who invest. NYDFS says consumers who only invest, merchants that accept crypto and people who only mine or write software generally don’t need a BitLicense. The regulatory obligations fall on crypto businesses that serve customers; what you need is an exchange that holds the licences for your state.

What happens when crypto firms break the rules

Operating without US licences, or with weak AML compliance, can be prosecuted or fined, which adds legal and regulatory risks for customers too. Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to AML and sanctions violations and agreed to pay about $4.3 billion. KuCoin’s operator pleaded guilty in January 2025 to an unlicensed money transmission charge and agreed to pay nearly $300 million, and OKX’s global operator pleaded guilty a month later and agreed to pay about $504 million. Licensed firms get fined too: in 2020 Interactive Brokers LLC paid $38 million to the SEC, FINRA and CFTC over anti-money-laundering and suspicious activity reporting failures.

Which other crypto exchanges are allowed in the US?

Several big names either don’t serve the US or run a separate US company whose licences we haven’t verified.

• Binance: the global platform doesn’t serve US residents; the separate Binance.US is not reviewed.
• Crypto.com and OKX: both serve US users through separate US entities (OKX launched its US crypto platform in April 2025), but we haven’t verified their state licences.
• Gate: the global platform and Gate EU don’t serve US residents. Gate US, Inc. (NMLS 2272810) is a separate company that lists licences in 35 states plus DC and Puerto Rico and doesn’t operate in New York or Texas, among others; we haven’t reviewed it.
• eToro: eToro USA LLC settled SEC charges in 2024 and limited US crypto trading to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ether; we haven’t checked its current US offer.
• Bybit, Bitget, KuCoin, MEXC and Bitvavo: not available to US residents.

How to check a crypto exchange licence

You can check an exchange’s US licences in a few minutes before you open an account.

Consumer protection: what a crypto exchange licence does and doesn’t cover

A crypto exchange licence means a regulator supervises the exchange; it is neither consumer protection nor investor protection against market losses. FinCEN registration is a filing requirement, a BitLicense or state licence brings supervision of how the firm runs its business, and payment stablecoins are not federally insured under the GENIUS Act. Crypto can still lose all its value.

How crypto is taxed in the US

The IRS treats crypto and other digital assets as property, so selling or swapping them can create a capital gain or loss. Gains on assets held one year or less are short-term; held for longer, they are long-term.

Exchanging one digital asset for another that differs materially counts as a disposal too. Brokers report sales on Form 1099-DA for transactions from 1 January 2025, but you must report your capital gains on your tax return even if you don’t receive one.

Where to go next

If you want to choose between these licensed exchanges on fees and features, see our best crypto exchange for US residents ranking. If you live in Europe, see our pages on crypto exchanges in the Netherlands and Germany.