Yes. Owning and trading crypto is legal in North Dakota, and the state has no crypto licence of its own: firms that handle customers’ dollars hold a money transmitter licence from the Department of Financial Institutions. Crypto kiosks have their own law, HB 1447, filed on 11 April 2025.

The licence pages of Coinbase, Gemini and OKX each name the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions as the issuer of an ND money transmitter licence. We found no separate virtual currency licence and no list of approved coins. Kiosk operators fall under the same money transmitter licence, with extra rules covered under the regulators section 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 North Dakotans too. Both are covered in our United States guide.

Which crypto licences does North Dakota require?

A money transmitter licence under chapter 13-09.1 of the Century Code, and nothing crypto-specific beyond the kiosk rules. Three of the seven US exchanges we track show one on their own pages: Coinbase (MT102790), Gemini (MT103075) and OKX US (MT103502).

The Coinbase licence page lists “North Dakota Money Transmitter License, MT102790” under the Department of Financial Institutions in Bismarck. Gemini’s North Dakota page says “Gemini is available in North Dakota”, names licence MT103075 for Gemini Trust Company and offers USD as the only fiat currency. The OKX US licence page lists “Money Transmitter License, #MT103502” for North Dakota and does not name the state among the places it does not serve.

Table of seven exchanges that serve US residents. Coinbase: money transmitter licence MT102790, limited; Gemini: money transmitter licence MT103075, limited; Kraken: licence not shown on its page, limited; OKX US: money transmitter licence MT103502, limited; Crypto.com: licence not shown on its page, limited; Bitstamp: licence not shown on its page, limited; Gate US: licence not shown on its page, limited.

Kraken, Gate and Bitstamp publish no North Dakota licence we could read, and Crypto.com publishes none on a page we could load. A missing licence on a page is not proof the company holds none. What the pages do say: the Crypto.com help centre lists North Dakota among the states where its App is available (page dated 15 September 2025), and Kraken’s help centre includes North Dakota in its list of states for onchain staking (page last updated 30 March 2026).

Best crypto platforms for North Dakota residents

By our access score inside North Dakota, Coinbase (8.9 out of 10), Gemini (8.4) 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 North Dakota resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is the US score with North Dakota’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 North Dakota-specific cut, so the scores track the US ones. The method is on our methodology page.

Exchanges

  1. Coinbase

    Best for Spot trading plus staking and loans

    8.9/10
    Access
    3.5/4
    Products
    2.4/3
    Licences
    2/2
    Our test
    1/1

    Pros

    • North Dakota money transmitter licence MT102790
    • No North Dakota-specific cut in our data

    Cons

    • Its prediction markets run through Kalshi, which the Eighth Circuit has not yet ruled on
    • Federal limits on US customers still apply
    Read our Coinbase report

  2. 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

    • North Dakota money transmitter licence MT103075
    • Gemini lists North Dakota as available

    Cons

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

  3. Kraken

    Best for A wide coin list with onchain staking

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

    Pros

    • Onchain staking lists North Dakota as available
    • Its licensing page names no North Dakota exclusion

    Cons

    • No North Dakota licence on its pages that we could read
    • Federal limits on US customers still apply
    Read our Kraken 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 North Dakota
    • No North Dakota-specific cut in our data

    Cons

    • The Exchange does not offer US residents derivatives
    • No North Dakota licence on a page we could load
    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 North Dakota-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

    • North Dakota money transmitter licence MT103502
    • North Dakota is not on its list of excluded states

    Cons

    • Spot and convert only, no derivatives for US customers
    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
    • We found no North Dakota action against it

    Cons

    • North Dakota has no legal sports betting, so a state challenge to sports contracts remains possible
    • We found no ruling from the Eighth Circuit, which covers North Dakota
    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 North Dakota action against it

    Cons

    • polymarket.com itself blocks US users
    • No state list was readable, so North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota residents?

None of the platforms we track. We found no tracked exchange, prediction market or DeFi protocol that names North Dakota as excluded or limited in its own terms, licence page or help centre, so North Dakota 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 turns off fiat transfers in Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Utah. OKX US lists New York and several US territories as places it does not serve. The Crypto.com help centre lists North Dakota among the states where its App is available.

Two limits sit outside our platform data. North Dakota’s one live consumer rule is the kiosk law below, and federal limits apply to every state. We could not read Polymarket’s, Bitstamp’s, Gate US’s, Uniswap’s or PancakeSwap’s own state lists, so for those the US status applies.

Who regulates crypto in North Dakota?

The Department of Financial Institutions licenses money transmitters, including crypto kiosk operators, and the Legislative Assembly passed HB 1447 in 2025 to set kiosk rules. We found no North Dakota Attorney General lawsuit against a crypto platform.

  • Department of Financial Institutions. It issues the money transmitter licences that Coinbase, Gemini and OKX US show on their pages. Its crypto ATM page says an operator may not run virtual currency business activity unless “licensed in this state as a money transmitter”, and summarises HB 1447 as limiting daily transactions to “$2,000 per customer”, requiring clear disclosure of risks, fees and transaction details, a transaction receipt, live customer service from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Central Time, and blockchain analytics with a full-time compliance officer and customer protection officer.
  • Legislative Assembly. HB 1447 creates sections 13-09.1-50 through 13-09.1-54 of the Century Code and amends section 13-09.1-44. According to the bill overview, the House passed it 87 to 3, the Senate passed it as amended 45 to 1, and it was filed with the Secretary of State on 11 April 2025. The overview lists the governor’s signature as 10 April in one place and 11 April in another. We could not read the enrolled text, so the rules above are the Department’s summary, not the statute.
  • Attorney General. We found no North Dakota Attorney General action against a crypto platform.

Unsettled. We found no North Dakota cease-and-desist letter, lawsuit or bill aimed at Kalshi, Polymarket or any other event-contract platform, and the state has no legal sports betting.

North Dakota sits in the Eighth Circuit, and we found no Eighth Circuit ruling on event contracts, so the pick lists above keep the US status for Kalshi and Polymarket. Actions in other states and the federal side are in our United States guide.

How is crypto taxed in North Dakota?

North Dakota taxes taxable income at 0%, 1.95% or 2.5% for the 2025 tax year. A single filer pays nothing up to $48,475, 1.95% up to $244,825 and 2.5% above it. We found no separate North Dakota rate or break written for crypto.

Step chart of North Dakota income tax rates for a single filer in tax year 2025: 0% up to $48,475 of taxable income, 1.95% from $48,475 to $244,825 and 2.5% above $244,825.

The Office of State Tax Commissioner publishes the 2025 rates by filing status. For married couples filing jointly the zero rate runs to $80,975 and the 2.5% rate starts above $298,075; for heads of household the figures are $64,950 and $271,450; for married persons filing separately, $40,475 and $149,025. The page says nothing specific about virtual currency, and we found no 2026 table on it, so check the Commissioner’s site before you file. Federal capital gains rules, which decide what counts as a gain, are in our United States guide.