Yes. Owning and trading crypto is legal in Virginia, and the state has no crypto exchange licence: firms that move money for Virginians need a money transmitter licence from the State Corporation Commission (SCC).

Virginia’s money transmitter statute, Chapter 19.1 of Title 6.2, defines “money” as a medium of exchange authorised by a government and adds that it “does not include virtual currency”. The 2025 law (Acts chapter 214) replaced the old Chapter 19, which the Code now lists as repealed. The licence therefore reaches the dollars that go in and out of an exchange, and three exchanges’ own licence pages say theirs does not cover Bitcoin transmission (see the next section).

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

Which crypto licences does Virginia require?

A money transmitter licence from the SCC Bureau of Financial Institutions. Four of the seven US exchanges we track list one on their own pages: Coinbase, Kraken, OKX US and Crypto.com.

The licence numbers are Coinbase MO-306, Kraken MO-394, OKX US MO-374 and Crypto.com MO-423. Kraken, OKX US and Crypto.com add that the Virginia licence does not cover the transmission of virtual currency (Bitcoin). Gemini lists Virginia as available with US dollar deposits but shows no licence number there. We could not read the SCC licensee list or the Bitstamp and Gate US licence pages, so those three stay unconfirmed.

Table of seven exchanges that serve US residents. Coinbase: licence MO-306, limited (same as the rest of the US); Kraken: licence MO-394, excludes Bitcoin transmission, limited (same as the rest of the US); OKX US: licence MO-374, excludes Bitcoin transmission, limited (same as the rest of the US); Crypto.com: licence MO-423, excludes Bitcoin transmission, limited (same as the rest of the US); Gemini: none listed on its virginia page, limited (same as the rest of the US); Bitstamp: not confirmed, limited (same as the rest of the US); Gate US: not confirmed, limited (same as the rest of the US).

Best crypto platforms for Virginia residents

By our access score inside Virginia, 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 Virginia resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is the US score with Virginia’s own limits applied (there are none): 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). 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

    • Virginia money transmitter licence MO-306
    • Staking, loans and DEX trading do not carve out Virginia

    Cons

    • Prediction markets are offered while no Virginia ruling exists
    Read our Coinbase report

  2. Gemini

    Best for Plain spot trading with dollar deposits

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

    Pros

    • Lists Virginia as available, with US dollar deposits
    • Asset Rewards staking is automatic, not opt-in, in Virginia

    Cons

    • No Virginia licence number shown on its Virginia page
    • 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

    • Virginia money transmitter licence MO-394
    • Onchain staking is open in Virginia

    Cons

    • Its Virginia licence does not cover Bitcoin transmission, by its own disclosure
    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

    • Virginia money transmitter licence MO-423
    • The App is available in Virginia

    Cons

    • Its Virginia licence does not cover Bitcoin transmission, by its own disclosure
    • The Exchange does not offer US residents derivatives
    Read our Crypto.com report

  5. 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

    • Virginia money transmitter licence MO-374
    • Only New York and US territories are excluded

    Cons

    • Spot and convert only, no derivatives for US customers
    • Its Virginia licence does not cover Bitcoin transmission, by its own disclosure
    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 Virginia court order that stops it

    Cons

    • 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
    • We found no Virginia court order that 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 Virginia
    • 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 Virginia residents?

None that we found. No tracked platform names Virginia as excluded or limited in the licence pages, terms and help centres we read, so every platform that serves the rest of the US serves Virginia on the same terms.

We read the Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com and OKX US help and licence pages and Gate US’s list of jurisdictions it does not operate in, and Virginia appears on none of the exclusion lists. Gate US names Alaska, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Washington and the US Virgin Islands instead. We could not read the Bitstamp pages, and the Kalshi and Polymarket US terms do not list states. For states where a platform does cut residents back, see the New York guide.

Who regulates crypto in Virginia?

The SCC Bureau of Financial Institutions licenses money transmitters and will license crypto kiosks, the Attorney General will enforce the kiosk rules from 2027, and the General Assembly has acted only on kiosks.

  • SCC. Licenses money transmitters under Chapter 19.1 and, from 1 July 2027, the operators of crypto kiosks under Chapter 22.2.
  • General Assembly. On 13 February 2026 the legislature sent the kiosk bill to the governor, and it became law as chapters 654 and 655 of the 2026 Acts.
  • Attorney General. From 1 July 2027 the SCC may refer kiosk violations to the Attorney General, who may also seek an injunction without a referral. We found no crypto lawsuit by the office before then.

Bar chart of Virginia crypto kiosk transaction limits from 1 July 2027: new user, per day $2,000, any user, per day $5,000, any user, per month $10,000. Beside it: a 48-hour hold on a new user’s transaction with a refund on request, a maximum charge of 18% of the transaction value, and the rules start on 1 July 2027.

From 1 July 2027 a kiosk operator needs an SCC licence, and a transaction made without one is void. The transaction rules cap a new user at $2,000 a day, any user at $5,000 a day and $10,000 a month, and hold every new user’s transaction for at least 48 hours, with a full refund on request during the hold. The charge on one transaction cannot exceed 18% of its value, annual fee included.

How is crypto taxed in Virginia?

The same way the IRS taxes it: a crypto gain is part of your income, and Virginia taxes that income at 2% to 5.75%, with no separate rate for gains.

Step chart of Virginia income tax rates, the same for every filing status: 2% from $0, 3% from $3,000, 5% from $5,000, 5.75% from $17,000. Below: Virginia income starts from federal adjusted gross income, there is no separate rate for capital gains so a gain joins your income, and the top rate is 5.75% on income above $17,000.

Virginia income starts from federal adjusted gross income, so a gain or crypto income that is in your federal return is in your Virginia return. How the IRS treats crypto is in the United States guide. The rate schedule is the same for every filing status: 2% up to $3,000, 3% to $5,000, 5% to $17,000 and 5.75% above that, as the Code read on 19 October 2026.