Crypto ATM laws in Texas: a guide for operators (2026)
Texas has no kiosk law: a kiosk bill passed the Senate in 2025 but died in the House. The Department of Banking generally doesn't treat non-stablecoin crypto as money.
No kiosk-specific law · Last checked
Licensing in Texas
Money transmission is licensed by the Texas Department of Banking under Finance Code ch. 152 (the Money Services Modernization Act). Under Supervisory Memorandum 1037 (rev. 2025-01-28), non-stablecoin virtual currency is not 'money or monetary value', so exchanging it is not currency exchange. A transaction that involves sovereign currency or a stablecoin may be money transmission, decided case by case. Fiat-backed stablecoins are treated as money. Whether a given kiosk model needs a license therefore depends on how the cash is handled.
Regulator: Texas Department of Banking · License: Generally none for non-stablecoin crypto
Sources: Texas DOB Supervisory Memorandum 1037 (rev. 2025-01-28) · Texas DOB MSB FAQs (ch. 152, Money Services Modernization Act)
Kiosk-specific rules
Texas has no law written specifically for crypto ATMs as of 2026-10-28. The general money transmission rules above and the federal rules still apply.
Bills and changes to watch
- SB 1705 (Parker), 89th Regular Session, 2025: would have added Finance Code ch. 161 with kiosk registration and DOB pre-approval, a $3,000 per 24 hours cap, fees capped at the greater of $5 or 12% (markup included), disclosures and receipts, fee refunds on fraud found by an agency, and a September 1 2025 effective date. It passed the Senate on 2025-05-15 and was reported from House committee but never got a House floor vote. It died when the session ended on 2025-06-02.
- The same kiosk chapter was added to HB 4233 as a Senate floor amendment on 2025-05-29. The House returned HB 4233 to the Senate on 2025-05-30 on a sustained point of order over non-germane amendments, so it was not enacted.
- HB 2798 (Plesa, Capriglione) passed the House in 2025 (engrossed) but was not enacted.
- Texas's next regular session is in 2027; no kiosk law is in force.
Sources: SB 1705 House committee bill analysis · Senate Journal 2025-05-29 (HB 4233 kiosk floor amendment) · Senate Journal 2025-05-30 (House returns HB 4233 on point of order) · HB 2798 engrossed text · CryptoSlate law profile of SB 1705 (not enacted) (secondary)
What we couldn't confirm
- That SB 1705 received no House vote: based on legiplex milestones and CryptoSlate. The official TLO history page blocks automated fetch.
- Whether DOB requires an MTL for typical one-way cash-to-BTC kiosks in practice (SM 1037 is case-by-case).
- Any Texas AG suit or local ordinance against kiosk operators: none found in the searches we ran.
Run machines in Texas? Put them on Bitcoin Scouts
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