Yes. Owning and trading crypto is legal in South Carolina, the state has no crypto-specific licence, and since 19 May 2026 a state act protects self-custody, payments in crypto, mining and crypto-to-crypto swaps.

The Attorney General’s Money Services Division licenses money transmitters under the Uniform Money Services Act, and its FAQ says it “views virtual currencies as lacking the characteristics necessary to be a medium of exchange”. Virtual currency alone therefore does not count as monetary value, but a transaction that also moves fiat currency may be money transmission.

Act 208 of 2026 (S. 163) adds Chapter 47 to Title 34 of the state code. It bars state bodies from accepting a central bank digital currency, lets any person or business accept digital assets for legal goods and services, and protects self-hosted and hardware wallets. It passed the Senate 38 to 1 on 1 May 2025 and the House 110 to 1 on 5 May 2026, and Governor Henry McMaster signed it on 19 May 2026.

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

Which crypto licences does South Carolina require?

None for crypto as such. A firm that moves customers’ dollars needs a money transmitter licence from the Attorney General’s Money Services Division, and six of the seven US exchanges we track list one on their own pages: Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, OKX US, Bitstamp and Gate US.

Applications go through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, and the Uniform Money Services Act has applied since 2 July 2024. We found no BitLicense-style regime, no approved coin list and no public licensee list on the Division’s pages. Where a machine is involved, the Division points to Order MSD-19003 to decide whether a licence is needed.

Act 208 narrows the licence. Under section 34-47-60, nobody needs a money transmitter licence for mining, running a node, developing blockchain software, or exchanging one digital asset for another without touching legal tender or bank deposits. Staking as a service is declared not to be a security.

Table of seven exchanges that serve US residents. Coinbase: money transmitter licence 1163082, limited; Gemini: money transmitter licence, no number listed, limited; Kraken: money transmitter licence, no number listed, limited; OKX US: money transmitter licence, no number listed, limited; Crypto.com: licence page not readable, App listed as available in South Carolina, limited; Bitstamp: money transmitter licence, no number listed, limited; Gate US: money transmitter licence 2272810, limited.

Crypto.com is the seventh. Its help centre lists South Carolina among the 49 states where the App is available, but its licence page is a download we could not read, so we do not count it. Only Coinbase (1163082) and Gate US (2272810) print a licence number.

Best crypto platforms for South Carolina residents

By our access score inside South Carolina, 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 South Carolina resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is the US score with South Carolina’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 South Carolina-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

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

    Pros

    • South Carolina money transmitter licence 1163082
    • Staking is open: its help page names only CA, MD, NJ and WI

    Cons

    • South Carolina took action against its staking in June 2023
    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

    • Gemini lists South Carolina as available
    • Licensed by the Attorney General's Money Services Division

    Cons

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

  3. Kraken

    Best for A wide coin list under a state licence

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

    Pros

    • Lists a South Carolina money transmitter licence for Payward Interactive and Payward Financial

    Cons

    • No licence number is printed in its disclosures
    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 listed as available in South Carolina
    • Staking exclusions name NY, CA, MD, NJ and WI, not South Carolina

    Cons

    • Its South Carolina licence page could not be read
    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

    • Lists South Carolina among its money transmitter licences

    Cons

    • No staking or lending in the US
    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

    • Its US licences page lists South Carolina for token-to-token and USD-to-token
    • It excludes only New York and the territories

    Cons

    • No South Carolina licence number is printed on the 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
    • We found no South Carolina order or cease-and-desist letter against it

    Cons

    • Its sports contracts are under challenge in other states
    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 South Carolina order against it

    Cons

    • polymarket.com itself blocks US users
    • No state list is published, so South Carolina 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

    • Terms do not exclude South Carolina
    • Act 208 protects self-hosted wallets

    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 South Carolina residents?

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

The exclusions we did read name other states. Coinbase halts new staking in California, Maryland, New Jersey and Wisconsin, and lets Washington residents keep staking. Crypto.com serves the App in every state but New York and bars staking in New York, California, Maryland, New Jersey and Wisconsin. OKX excludes New York and the territories.

South Carolina itself was once on Coinbase’s list. On 6 June 2023 the Securities Division was one of ten state regulators to act against Coinbase’s staking program, citing more than 43,000 South Carolina accounts holding about $37.7 million. The action did not ban staking, and Cointelegraph reported a joint stipulation dismissing it on 27 March 2025. Coinbase’s staking page no longer names the state.

Who regulates crypto in South Carolina?

The Attorney General’s office does most of it: its Money Services Division licenses money transmitters and its Securities Division polices offerings. The General Assembly sets the rules for mining, payments and kiosks. We found no prediction-market action by any South Carolina authority.

Timeline in three lanes. Regulators, 5 December 2018: Virtual currency view (Alone, not monetary value). Regulators, 2 July 2024: Money services act (Uniform act in force). AG and courts, 6 June 2023: Coinbase action (One of ten states). AG and courts, 14 November 2024: States sue the SEC (Reported, 18 states). AG and courts, 27 March 2025: Action dropped (Reported dismissal). Legislature, 13 January 2026: Kiosk bill filed (H. 4592, still in committee). Legislature, 19 May 2026: Act 208 signed (S. 163, digital assets).

  • Money Services Division. Its FAQ cites a 5 December 2018 interpretation on virtual currency, and the Uniform Money Services Act took effect on 2 July 2024.
  • Securities Division. Besides the 2023 Coinbase action, CryptoSlate reports that Attorney General Alan Wilson joined the 18-state suit against the SEC filed in November 2024 in the Eastern District of Kentucky. We could not confirm the state list on the complaint itself.
  • General Assembly. Act 208 is in force from 19 May 2026. Mining businesses above one megawatt must not add stress to the grid and must show the Public Service Commission a power purchase agreement on request, and cities and counties may not single out industrial-zoned mining with extra rules. A kiosk bill, H. 4592, would require kiosk operators to hold a money transmitter licence and show warnings on the screen. It was introduced on 13 January 2026 and is still in committee.

As of 20 October 2026 we found no cease-and-desist letter, lawsuit or court order from a South Carolina authority against Kalshi, Polymarket or another prediction market. The wider fight is in our United States guide.

How is crypto taxed in South Carolina?

As income, with a break: South Carolina deducts 44% of net capital gain before applying its rate. The top rate was 6% for tax year 2025, and from 2026 there are two brackets, 1.99% under $30,000 and 5.21% minus $966 above.

Bar chart of South Carolina’s top income tax rate by tax year: 7% in 2021, 6.5% in 2022, 6.4% in 2023, 6.2% in 2024, 6% in 2025, 5.21% in 2026; the 2026 figure is the rate on income of $30,000 and above, less $966. Below: 44% of net capital gain is deducted from South Carolina taxable income (Code section 12-6-1150); the 2026 rate under $30,000 is 1.99%; the 2026 standard deduction for a single filer is $15,000; and Act 208 bars extra tax charged only because crypto was used as payment.

Section 12-6-1150 of the state code allows individuals a deduction equal to 44% of net capital gain recognised in the state, using the federal definition of net capital gain. The Department of Revenue’s notice on H. 4216, signed on 30 March 2026, sets the 2026 rates, starts the return from federal adjusted gross income and replaces the federal standard deduction with a state one of $15,000 for a single filer. The top rate can fall further if state economists project revenue growth of 5% or more, and 2025 returns are not affected. The Department’s rate page lists the earlier top rates.

We found no Department of Revenue guidance page on crypto. Act 208 says a digital asset used as payment may not be taxed more only because of that use, though any tax that would apply to a dollar payment still applies. Federal capital gains rules are in our United States guide.