Yes. Owning and trading crypto is legal in Montana, and we found no crypto licence and no money transmitter licence: a 2023 law-firm review quotes the state’s website as saying “MONTANA DOES NOT REGULATE MONEY TRANSMITTERS.” Montana has no crypto kiosk law.

The Division of Banking and Financial Institutions website would not load from our network, so the licence point rests on that McDermott Will & Emery review of 31 March 2023. It records that the Division asked money transmitters on 10 March 2023 for business plans covering “virtual and fiat currency” flows, then withdrew the request, and that the authors found no statute behind it. Treat the current state of the law as secondary-only until the Division’s page can be read.

Montana’s legislature has instead written crypto-friendly rules. SB 178 (2023) protects digital asset mining, and SB 265 (2025) lets qualifying network-token issuers apply to the securities regulator for an exemption from securities registration. A bill for a state bitcoin reserve, HB 429, failed in the House in February 2025 (reported by Cointelegraph, not read from the legislature). The state income tax is covered under tax below.

Federal rules from the SEC, CFTC, Treasury and IRS apply on top, as in every state, and offshore exchanges that refuse US users refuse Montanans too. Both are covered in our United States guide.

Which crypto licences does Montana require?

None that we found. Montana has no crypto licence and, according to its own website as quoted in 2023, no money transmitter licence, so no exchange we track shows a Montana licence number.

Gemini’s Montana page says “Gemini is available in Montana”, lists USD as the only fiat currency and shows company-wide NMLS numbers, not a Montana licence. A securities-side route exists: under SB 265 the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance takes applications from network-token issuers (release of 7 October 2025), but that is an exemption for token issuers, not a licence for exchanges. Because there is no licence to chart, this guide draws no licence table.

Best crypto platforms for Montana residents

By our access score inside Montana, Gemini (8.4 out of 10), Kraken (8.3) and Coinbase (7.9) are the most open exchanges, Kalshi (7.3) the most open prediction market and Uniswap (8.0) the most open DeFi platform.

The score rates how fully a Montana resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is the US score with Montana’s own limits applied: access status (4 points), the share of the platform’s products open in the state (3), the licences we hold on file (2) and what our geo-access test saw from a US address (1). No tracked platform has a Montana-specific cut, so the scores track the US ones. The method is on our methodology page.

Exchanges

  1. Gemini

    Best for Plain spot trading under one licence

    8.4/10
    Access
    3.5/4
    Products
    1.9/3
    Licences
    2/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • Gemini lists Montana as available
    • No Montana-specific cut in our data

    Cons

    • Fiat deposits are USD only
    • Gemini Derivatives excludes US persons
    Read our Gemini report

  2. Kraken

    Best for A wide coin list, with EUR still open

    8.3/10
    Access
    3/4
    Products
    2.3/3
    Licences
    2/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • Its licensing page excludes only Maine and New York
    • Montana is on its onchain staking list

    Cons

    • No Montana licence on its pages
    • Federal limits on US customers still apply
    Read our Kraken report

  3. Coinbase

    Best for Spot trading plus staking and loans

    7.9/10
    Access
    3.5/4
    Products
    2.4/3
    Licences
    1/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • No Montana-specific cut in our data
    • Montana needs no state money transmitter licence

    Cons

    • Its prediction markets run through Kalshi, which Montana has challenged
    • Federal limits on US customers still apply
    Read our Coinbase report

  4. Crypto.com

    Best for The App for spot trading

    7.5/10
    Access
    3/4
    Products
    1.5/3
    Licences
    2/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • The App is available in Montana
    • No Montana-specific cut in our data

    Cons

    • The Exchange does not offer US residents derivatives
    Read our Crypto.com report

  5. Bitstamp

    Best for Plain spot trading

    6.6/10
    Access
    3/4
    Products
    0.6/3
    Licences
    2/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • No Montana-specific cut in our data

    Cons

    • No staking or lending in the US
    • No derivatives for US customers
    Read our Bitstamp report

  6. OKX

    Best for Spot trading under a US entity

    6.0/10
    Access
    3/4
    Products
    1.5/3
    Licences
    1/2
    Our test
    0.5/1

    Pros

    • No Montana-specific cut in our data

    Cons

    • Spot and convert only, no derivatives for US customers
    • We could not read a Montana availability page
    Read our OKX report

Prediction markets

  1. Kalshi

    Best for The broadest CFTC-regulated event contracts

    7.3/10
    Access
    3/4
    Products
    2.3/3
    Licences
    1/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • CFTC-designated contract market
    • Montana agreed not to enforce while the Ninth Circuit matter continues (reported)

    Cons

    • Montana ordered it to stop twice, in March 2025 and April 2026
    • The state could act again once that matter ends
    Read our Kalshi report

  2. Polymarket

    Best for Polymarket markets on a US exchange

    6.3/10
    Access
    3/4
    Products
    2.3/3
    Licences
    1/2
    Our test
    0/1

    Pros

    • Polymarket US is a CFTC-designated exchange
    • We found no Montana action against it

    Cons

    • polymarket.com itself blocks US users
    • No state list read from its own pages, so Montana status rests on silence
    Read our Polymarket report

DeFi

  1. Uniswap

    Best for Swapping tokens from your own wallet

    8.0/10
    Access
    4/4
    Products
    3/3
    Licences
    0/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • No Montana cut in our data
    • No US state is named in its terms

    Cons

    • Leveraged products for US retail are barred
    Read our Uniswap report

  2. PancakeSwap

    Best for BNB Chain swaps and pools

    6.3/10
    Access
    3.5/4
    Products
    1.8/3
    Licences
    0/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • Swaps, pools and staking are not excluded

    Cons

    • PCS Perps bars US users
    • No US licence on file
    Read our PancakeSwap report

Which platforms block or limit Montana residents?

None of the platforms we track. We found no tracked exchange, prediction market or DeFi protocol that names Montana as excluded or limited in its own terms, licence page or help centre, so Montana residents get the same product list as the rest of the US.

The exclusions we did find name other states. Kraken’s licensing page says it does not serve Maine and New York, and Montana is on its list of states for onchain staking. The Crypto.com help centre lists 49 states for its App, and Montana is one of them (page dated 15 September 2025). We could not read primary state pages for Coinbase, OKX or Polymarket, so for those the answer is that no source we saw names Montana, which is not proof. One secondary guide lists Montana among states where Polymarket US is unavailable; we did not confirm it and add no row for it.

Montana’s live question is prediction markets, not exchanges. Residents can still buy and trade crypto online.

Who regulates crypto in Montana?

The Commissioner of Securities and Insurance polices crypto as securities, the Gambling Control Division polices event contracts, and the Legislature has passed mining and token laws but no kiosk law. The securities regulator says it cannot shut kiosks down.

Timeline in three lanes. Regulators, 10 March 2023: Banking letter withdrawn (Business plans for transmitters). Regulators, 7 February 2024: TradeStation settlement ($3 million, 27 states and SEC). Regulators, 28 August 2025: Kiosk warning (No power to shut machines). Gambling, 26 March 2025: Kalshi ordered to stop (Cease and desist letter). Gambling, 12 April 2026: Kalshi sues Montana (After a second letter). Gambling, 17 September 2026: Suits dropped (Reported by press). Legislature, 12 April 2023: SB 178 passes House (Right to mine, 64 to 35). Legislature, 5 May 2025: SB 265 signed (Network token exemption).

  • Securities regulator (CSI). Under SB 265, signed 5 May 2025, qualifying network-token issuers “apply directly with CSI for exemption from traditional securities registration”, and CSI says the law has taken effect (release posted 7 October 2025). On 7 February 2024 it joined 26 other states and the SEC in a $3 million settlement with TradeStation Crypto (CSI release).
  • Kiosks. State Auditor James Brown said on 21 August 2025: “We can put warnings on these machines, but we don’t have the authority to shut them down” (CSI repost, 28 August 2025). A kiosk bill is being drafted for the 2027 session, according to a Flathead Beacon report of 22 October 2025 mirrored by CSI.
  • Legislature. SB 178 passed the House 64 to 35 on 12 April 2023 (reported by Cointelegraph). We did not read either bill on the legislature’s site.
  • Attorney General. We found no Montana Attorney General crypto enforcement action, only consumer scam alerts. The Attorney General’s site would not load for us.

Contested. The Gambling Control Division told Kalshi on 26 March 2025 that its event contracts are gambling, and Kalshi sued on 12 April 2026. Press reports say both sides dropped their federal suits in September 2026 while Montana holds off on enforcement.

  • 26 March 2025. The Division’s cease and desist order says “Kalshi’s ‘event contracts’ are gambling” and “Kalshi does not hold a Montana sports wagering license”, and was sent to draw attention rather than start direct enforcement.
  • April 2025. Kalshi’s complaint says the Division agreed on 11 April 2025 to defer enforcement while its Nevada case and any Ninth Circuit appeal ran.
  • 6 and 12 April 2026. A second cease and desist followed, and Kalshi sued Attorney General Austin Knudsen, the Division and five commission members in the District of Montana, arguing the Commodity Exchange Act pre-empts state gambling law.
  • 17 September 2026. A joint dismissal is reported, and iGaming Post says Montana agreed not to enforce while the related Ninth Circuit matter continues. We could not read the filing.

We found no Montana action against Polymarket, Crypto.com or Coinbase, so we add no state row for them. Federal and other-state actions are in our United States guide.

How is crypto taxed in Montana?

Montana taxes income at 4.7% up to $47,500 for a single filer in 2026 and 5.65% above, with long-term gains taxed at 3.0% and 4.1%. We found no crypto-specific Montana rule, and these figures are secondary until the Department of Revenue site can be read.

Taxstra, citing a Department of Revenue page it says was updated on 10 July 2026, lists the 2026 figures under HB 337: 4.7% up to $47,500 for single and separate filers, $71,250 for heads of household and $95,000 for joint filers, then 5.65%. It keeps the long-term capital gains rates at 3.0% and 4.1%. The top rate drops to 5.4% from 2027 on the same secondary reading. The Department’s site did not load for us, so confirm the thresholds there before you file. Federal capital gains rules are in our United States guide.