United States · NV
Is crypto legal in Nevada?
Yes. Owning and trading crypto is legal in Nevada. A firm that sends or receives money for Nevadans, including through a kiosk or online, needs a money transmitter licence from the Financial Institutions Division (FID), and a firm that holds crypto for others may need a trust company licence.
Nevada has no BitLicense-style regime of its own. Its Money Transmission Modernization Act, AB 21, took effect on 1 July 2023 and requires a licence for money transmission “at a kiosk, through the Internet” or by any other method. The act never uses the words virtual currency; crypto businesses are caught through its definition of monetary value, a medium of exchange “whether or not redeemable in money”. FID said in 2019 that crypto firms should ask for a licensure determination and that digital custody may be regulated as a trust company under NRS Chapter 669. Nevada has no law on crypto kiosks specifically, such as daily limits.
Nevada also has no personal income tax, so a crypto gain is not taxed by the state (the Department of Taxation says residents pay no state tax on wages, and the state has no separate capital gains tax). Virtual currency is exempt from property tax under NRS 361.228, and cities and counties may not tax the use of a blockchain. Businesses with more than $4 million of Nevada revenue a year owe the Commerce Tax. Federal tax is covered in our United States guide.
Federal rules from the SEC, CFTC, Treasury and IRS apply on top, and offshore exchanges that refuse US users refuse Nevadans too. Both are in the same guide.
Which crypto licences does Nevada require?
A money transmitter licence from FID, or a trust company licence for custody. Of the seven US exchanges we track, six show a Nevada licence on their own pages: five money transmitter licences and Gemini’s trust company licence. Bitstamp shows none and does not serve Nevada.
FID does not publish a list of licensees; it points to the national NMLS database, so the table shows what each exchange lists itself. Coinbase, Kraken, Crypto.com, OKX and Gate list money transmitter licences. Gemini holds a foreign independent trust company licence for its trust company and a separate money transmitter licence for Gemini Moonbase.
Custody is where Nevada has had its failures. On 26 June 2023 FID asked a court to put Prime Trust into receivership five days after ordering it to stop, finding it unsafe and insolvent. On 22 October 2025 it ordered Fortress Trust, another Nevada trust company, to stop business after it could not honour withdrawals. FID’s enforcement page also lists orders against crypto kiosk operators, among them Athena Bitcoin and Bitcoin Depot, and a settlement with Block.
Best crypto platforms for Nevada residents
By our access score inside Nevada, Gemini (8.4 out of 10) and Kraken (8.3) 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 Nevada resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is the US score with Nevada’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). Platforms that refuse Nevadans are not scored. The method is on our methodology page.
Exchanges
Gemini
Best for A trust company with a Nevada licence
8.4/10- Access
- 3.5/4
- Products
- 1.9/3
- Licences
- 2/2
- Our test
- 1/1
Read our Gemini reportPros
- Foreign independent trust company licence in Nevada
- Spot trading open in Nevada
- Staking has no Nevada exclusion
Cons
- Gemini Derivatives excludes US persons
Kraken
Best for Spot trading with only two excluded states
8.3/10- Access
- 3/4
- Products
- 2.3/3
- Licences
- 2/2
- Our test
- 1/1
Read our Kraken reportPros
- Nevada money transmitter licence MT11156
- Excludes only Maine and New York
Cons
- No Nevada trust company licence on file
Coinbase
Best for The widest product range, bar event contracts
7.5/10- Access
- 3.5/4
- Products
- 2/3
- Licences
- 1/2
- Our test
- 1/1
Read our Coinbase reportPros
- Nevada money transmitter licence MT11045
- Staking and crypto-backed loans carry no Nevada exclusion
- Spot trading open in Nevada
Cons
- Prediction markets are not offered in Nevada
- A state court barred its event contracts on 26 March 2026
Crypto.com
Best for The app for spot trading in Nevada
7.5/10- Access
- 3/4
- Products
- 1.5/3
- Licences
- 2/2
- Our test
- 1/1
Read our Crypto.com reportPros
- Nevada money transmitter licence MT11170
- The app is available in Nevada
Cons
- Sports event contracts limited in Nevada since October 2025
- Ninth Circuit ruled against it on 28 August 2026
OKX
Best for Spot and conversions from a global brand
6.0/10- Access
- 3/4
- Products
- 1.5/3
- Licences
- 1/2
- Our test
- 0.5/1
Read our OKX reportPros
- Nevada money transmitter licence MT11219
- Nevada is not on its excluded list
Cons
- Spot and conversions only, no derivatives
Gate
Best for A wide coin list on a licensed US arm
5.1/10- Access
- 3/4
- Products
- 1.1/3
- Licences
- 1/2
- Our test
- 0/1
Read our Gate reportPros
- Nevada money transmitter licence MT11266
- Nevada is not on its excluded list
Cons
- No derivatives for US residents
- The global gate.com refuses US addresses
Prediction markets
Kalshi
Best for Financial and other event contracts outside Nevada
7.3/10- Access
- 3/4
- Products
- 2.3/3
- Licences
- 1/2
- Our test
- 1/1
Read our Kalshi reportPros
- CFTC-designated contract market
- Remains open in states without a court order
Cons
- Sports, election and entertainment contracts are barred in Nevada
- Agreed to a Nevada geofence or $120,000 a day in penalties
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
Read our Polymarket reportPros
- Polymarket US is a CFTC-designated exchange
- Remains open in states without a court order
Cons
- Barred from sports, election and entertainment contracts in Nevada since 29 May 2026
- polymarket.com itself blocks US users
DeFi
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
Read our Uniswap reportPros
- Terms do not exclude Nevada
- Nevada bars local taxes on blockchain use
Cons
- Leveraged products for US retail are barred
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
Read our PancakeSwap reportPros
- Swaps, pools and staking are not excluded
- No Nevada-specific restriction known
Cons
- PCS Perps bars US users
- No US licence on file
Which platforms block or limit Nevada residents?
One exchange that serves the rest of the US refuses Nevadans: Bitstamp. Four prediction markets are cut back: Coinbase, Kalshi, Polymarket US and Crypto.com. No spot exchange we track excludes Nevada.
Bitstamp USA’s own FAQ lists the US as available “excluding Hawaii & Nevada”, the only state-level exclusion for spot trading among the platforms we track. Every other cut in Nevada comes from the Gaming Control Board, which treats sports, election and entertainment event contracts as gambling.
Who regulates crypto in Nevada?
The Financial Institutions Division licenses money transmitters and trust companies and has shut two crypto custodians, the Gaming Control Board polices betting, which is where Nevada puts prediction markets, and the legislature has mostly left crypto alone beyond a 2017 ban on local blockchain taxes.
- FID. Sandy O’Laughlin has been Commissioner since November 2019. In 2019 it resumed licensing crypto businesses as money transmitters, and in 2023 and 2025 it acted against Prime Trust and Fortress Trust. A consent order of 6 February 2026 dealt with Knack Kiosk, whose licence had lapsed while one kiosk was still taking transactions.
- Attorney General. Aaron Ford warned Nevadans about cryptocurrency kiosk scams on 5 June 2026. We found no crypto lawsuit or settlement from the office.
- Legislature. SB 398 of 2017 barred cities and counties from taxing or licensing blockchain use, and a 2019 law exempted virtual currency from property tax. Nevada has no crypto kiosk law, and the legislature next meets in February 2027.
Are prediction markets legal in Nevada?
No, for sports. Nevada treats sports event contracts as gambling that needs a state gaming licence, and on 28 August 2026 the Ninth Circuit ruled 3-0 that federal commodities law does not override that. Kalshi, Coinbase and Polymarket US are under state-court injunctions.
The Gaming Control Board ordered Kalshi to stop on 4 March 2025. Kalshi sued and won a federal injunction on 9 April 2025, which the court dissolved on 25 November 2025. Crypto.com received its own cease-and-desist letter on 20 May 2025, lost its injunction bid on 14 October 2025 and agreed to limit its Nevada offerings pending appeal. The Board’s timeline lists the rest.
In 2026 the Board moved to state court in Carson City. It sued Polymarket on 16 January, Coinbase on 2 February and Kalshi on 17 February, and won orders against all three: Coinbase on 26 March, Kalshi on 3 April and Polymarket US on 29 May. Its update of 1 June 2026 says Kalshi and Coinbase may not offer or facilitate sports, election and entertainment contracts. Under a stipulation of 24 July, Kalshi had to block Nevada users by 12 August or pay the Board $120,000 a day.
The Ninth Circuit’s opinion in KalshiEX v. Assad, No. 25-7516, held that Kalshi had not shown federal law likely overrides Nevada’s gaming rules for sports contracts, and sent the question of election contracts back to the lower court. The Board says the ruling covers Crypto.com and Robinhood too. The wider split between courts is in our United States guide.
