Yes. Owning and trading crypto is legal in Texas, and the state has no crypto licence of its own: a firm needs a Texas money transmitter licence only when it handles dollars or stablecoins for customers.

The Department of Banking sets that line in Supervisory Memorandum 1037, revised on 28 January 2025 under the Money Services Modernization Act (Finance Code chapter 152). Bitcoin and other non-stablecoin virtual currency is “not money or monetary value”, so receiving it for transmission is not money transmission on its own. A stablecoin that is pegged to a sovereign currency, fully backed and redeemable is money, and so is any dollar handled alongside a coin. A licensed firm that also holds customer assets on a trading platform falls under the extra rules in chapter 160, which HB 1666 added on 1 September 2023.

Texas is also a buyer. SB 21, signed on 20 June 2025, created the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a state fund the Comptroller runs. The Comptroller may buy only coins with an average market capitalization of at least $500 billion over 24 months.

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

Which crypto licences does Texas require?

A money transmitter licence from the Department of Banking, but only for firms that handle dollars or stablecoins. Of the seven US exchanges we track, six hold one: Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, OKX US, Crypto.com and Bitstamp. Gate US does not operate in Texas.

Texas has no BitLicense-style regime that licenses a firm for crypto as such, and no state list of approved coins. A licence number appears on each exchange’s own licence page, and every exchange in the table keeps the federal limits described in our United States guide.

Table of seven exchanges that serve US residents. Coinbase: money transmitter licence 3121, limited; Gemini: money transmitter licence 3136, limited; Kraken: money transmitter licence 3202, limited, no EUR pairs, no FedWire or ACH funding; OKX US: money transmitter licence 3574, limited; Crypto.com: money transmitter licence 3550, limited; Bitstamp: money transmitter licence, no number listed, limited; Gate US: no Texas licence, restricted, does not serve Texas.

The Department does enforce the line. On 18 October 2024 it ordered Kraken to pay a $250,000 penalty and keep a $2 million surety bond, while the exchange stayed licensed to transmit money. On 12 December 2024 it fined the payments firm MoonPay $30,516.30 for selling stablecoins to Texans without a licence.

Crypto kiosks have no rules of their own. In testimony of 30 July 2026 the Department said it does not regulate two-party trades of dollars for non-stablecoin crypto, that kiosks offering stablecoins or involving a third party fall under chapter 152, and that two kiosk bills filed in 2025 were not enacted.

Best crypto platforms for Texas residents

By our access score inside Texas, 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 Texas resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is the US score with Texas’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 Texans are not scored. 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

    • Texas money transmitter licence 3121
    • Spot open in every state; staking and loans do not carve out Texas

    Cons

    • Prediction markets are offered while Texas gambling law is untested
    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

    • Texas money transmitter licence 3136
    • Gemini lists spot as available in Texas

    Cons

    • Asset Rewards staking is opt-in for Texans, not automatic
    • Gemini Derivatives excludes US persons
    Read our Gemini report

  3. Kraken

    Best for A wide coin list, in dollars only

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

    Pros

    • Texas money transmitter licence 3202
    • US futures through Kraken Derivatives US

    Cons

    • Texans cannot hold EUR or trade EUR pairs
    • No FedWire or ACH bank funding for Texas
    • Fined $250,000 by the Department of Banking in 2024
    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

    • Texas money transmitter licence 3550
    • The App is available in Texas

    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

    • Lists Texas among its money transmitter licences
    • No Texas carve-out in its US terms

    Cons

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

  6. OKX

    Best for Spot trading, newly open in Texas

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

    Pros

    • Opened to Texas residents in September 2026
    • Texas money transmitter licence 3574

    Cons

    • Spot and convert only, no derivatives for US customers
    • Covers token-to-token and USD-to-token services only
    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
    • No Texas court order makes it geofence the state

    Cons

    • Texas senators are studying prediction markets for 2027
    • Court orders do geofence it in Nevada, Washington and Michigan
    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
    • No Texas court order stops it

    Cons

    • polymarket.com itself blocks US users
    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 Texas
    • 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 Texas residents?

One exchange that serves the rest of the US refuses Texans: Gate US. Kraken serves Texas with limits: no EUR, and no FedWire or ACH bank funding.

Gate US lists Texas among seven jurisdictions where it does not operate, with Alaska, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Washington and the US Virgin Islands. Kraken is licensed in Texas but cuts three things for Texans: EUR deposits, holdings and pairs, margin on EUR order books and Express verification, and the US bank funding methods listed on its domestic funding page.

Platforms that cut back TexasPick one to see what its own documents say
PlatformStatusWhat Texas losesWhat the platform saysDocument
Gate USRestrictedEverythingGate US does not currently operate in TexasLicences page
KrakenLimitedEUR, and FedWire and ACH fundingResidents of Texas and New Hampshire cannot deposit or hold EUR, nor trade EUR pairs; funding is not available in Texas, New York and MaineLicensing page

Source: platform documents, read 19 October 2026.

Two smaller points do not change a status. Gemini does not enrol Texans in Asset Rewards automatically: they must opt in. OKX opened to Texas residents in September 2026, under Texas money transmission licence 3574.

Who regulates crypto in Texas?

The Department of Banking licenses money transmission, the State Securities Board polices crypto offerings, the Attorney General sides with the industry against federal rules, and the Comptroller runs the state’s bitcoin reserve. No Texas law has yet set rules for crypto kiosks.

Timeline in three lanes. Banking Dept, 18 October 2024: Kraken penalised ($250,000 and a $2M bond). Banking Dept, 28 January 2025: Memo 1037 revised (Stablecoins count as money). Securities and AG, 25 November 2024: AG joins SEC suit (18-state coalition). Securities and AG, 31 July 2025: Apertum order (Securities Board). Securities and AG, 1 June 2026: E-Estate halted (Tokenised real estate). Legislature, 9 June 2023: Custody and mining laws (HB 1666 and SB 1929). Legislature, 20 June 2025: Bitcoin reserve signed (SB 21). Legislature, 28 May 2026: Reserve committee named (Custody tender opens).

  • Securities Board. It was the first state securities regulator to enter an enforcement order against a crypto firm and says it has entered more than 70 administrative orders. Recent ones include the Apertum Foundation on 31 July 2025, the crypto mining investment TEXITcoin on 11 February 2026 and E-Estate Group, a tokenised real estate scheme, on 1 June 2026.
  • Attorney General. On 25 November 2024 Ken Paxton joined an 18-state suit against the SEC, arguing that states, not federal agencies, should shape crypto rules within their borders.
  • Legislature and Comptroller. SB 1929 requires bitcoin mining facilities in the ERCOT grid with more than 75 megawatts of interruptible load to register with the Public Utility Commission. On 28 May 2026 the Comptroller named the reserve’s advisory committee and opened a tender for a custody firm. The Legislature next meets in January 2027.

Not settled. Texas has not authorised sports betting, but we found no Texas agency or court that has acted against a prediction market, and a Senate committee is only studying the question ahead of the 2027 session.

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told senators in March 2026 to look at closing “gambling loopholes” that let prediction markets operate in Texas. The Texas Tribune reported on 1 May 2026 that the Attorney General’s office did not say whether state gambling law applies to them and did not join the multistate briefs on the issue. The Senate State Affairs Committee held an informational hearing on 15 September 2026, where the American Gaming Association urged Texas to sue operators in state court and Kalshi argued that federal law preempts state gambling rules.

Without a state order, Kalshi and Polymarket US keep their US status in Texas. States that have acted are covered in our United States guide.

How is crypto taxed in Texas?

Texas charges no personal income tax, so a crypto gain is taxed only by the federal government. Sales tax of up to 8.25% still applies to taxable goods bought with crypto, and companies pay the franchise tax.

The Texas Constitution bars the Legislature from taxing the net incomes of individuals. Federal capital gains rules are in our United States guide. The Comptroller said in 2018 that taxable items bought with bitcoin or another cryptocurrency remain subject to sales tax, which is 6.25% plus up to 2% local. Companies owe the franchise tax at 0.75% of taxable margin, or 0.375% for retail and wholesale, once revenue passes $2,650,000 for 2026 reports.