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Task force or study body Confirmed
Blockchain Technology Working Group (KRS 42.747) · Status unclear
- Created by: SB 55, 2020 Regular Session; 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 108; signed by the Governor Apr 24, 2020; statute effective July 15, 2020 (per KRS history note). Membership amended by SB 229 (2024 Acts ch. 19, signed Mar 29, 2024, effective July 15, 2024).
- Organized by: Attached to the Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) for administrative purposes; COT provides staffing; created by the General Assembly.
- Led by: Chair is the Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth Office of Technology or a designee (KRS 42.747). Ruth Day, Commissioner and CIO of COT, chaired it per the Dec 2020 annual report (source date Dec 2020/Jan 2021); current office-holder not verified.
- Members: Nine statutory members: COT CIO (chair); Secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet; CIO of the Finance and Administration Cabinet; a Public Service Commission designee; Executive Director of the Kentucky Department of Homeland Security; one academic with blockchain expertise (designated by the COT CIO); and three utility representatives (municipal utilities designated by the Kentucky League of Cities, per the 2024 change; investor-owned electric utilities designated by the PSC Executive Director; electric cooperatives designated by the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives board chair). The 2020 report lists a broader participant roster including a state senator, Louisville Metro and private-sector participants.
- Outputs and timeline: Statute requires an annual report by Dec 1 to the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission. Confirmed: Annual Report for 2020 (first meeting Sept 9, 2020; recommendations on finance, records management, public utilities, supply chain, healthcare; report posted Jan 13, 2021). The LRC reports index lists a 2024 Blockchain Working Group Annual Report (page last updated 12/3/2024); we could not open the PDF text, so its contents and signatories were not read. No 2025 report was seen on the index when we fetched it.
Sources: KRS 42.747 (Kentucky Legislature), SB 55 (2020) record, 2020 Acts ch. 108 (SB 55) enacted text, SB 229 (2024) record - amends working group membership, 2020 Blockchain Working Group Annual Report, LRC reports index (2024 Annual Report listed)
The group's statutory mission is limited to blockchain for critical infrastructure (grid, pipelines, water, telecom, emergency services), not crypto policy generally. This item had not received a full follow-up search at the time of review.
Bitcoin or digital asset reserve law Confirmed
HB 376 (2025, Rep. T.J. Roberts, 'Inflation Protection Act of 2025') would have let the State Investment Commission invest in digital assets (market-cap threshold; secondary source says 10% cap of excess funds) and bullion, and allowed agencies to accept digital assets as payment while barring CBDC. It was introduced Feb 6, 2025 and sent to House Banking & Insurance Feb 12, 2025; the Legislature page (as of 7/24/2025) shows no further action. We did not find a 2026 reserve bill and could not run further searches.
Sources: HB 376 (2025) record, CryptoSlate article on HB 376 (secondary, Feb 7, 2025)
Licensing Reported
Per a law-firm summary (Frost Brown Todd / FBT Gibbons, May 21, 2025) of a 2025 act on blockchain digital assets (signed Mar 24, 2025, effective June 27, 2025; bill number not given in the article), the money transmitter definition now excludes anyone who develops or deploys blockchain protocol software, exchanges digital assets for other digital assets, or operates blockchain nodes. The Kentucky money transmitter licensing statute itself (KRS 286.11) and DFI's position on fiat-to-crypto businesses were not read. The 2024 HB 741 (mining/node operation and money transmitter exclusions) passed the House 75-17 on Mar 26, 2024 and stalled in a Senate committee.
Sources: FBT Gibbons - Kentucky updates to blockchain and digital asset laws (secondary), HB 741 (2024) record
Crypto kiosks (ATMs) None found
No Kentucky crypto kiosk/ATM law or bill surfaced in the sources we opened (the May 2025 FBT Gibbons article says nothing on kiosks). This item had not received a full follow-up search at the time of review.
Other 2025 to 2026 actions
- 2025-03-24 (signed, per secondary source): Act relating to blockchain digital assets: allows acceptance of digital assets as payment, bars extra taxes solely for using them, protects staking-as-a-service providers who only validate, gives the Attorney General Consumer Protection Act authority over staking-as-a-service, and creates the money transmitter exclusions noted above; effective June 27, 2025. Bill number and chapter not confirmed (article cites 'Chapter 369' and KRS 286.11-007); primary text not read.
- 2025-02-06: HB 377 (2025, Rep. T.J. Roberts), 'relating to digital assets': would have barred state/local CBDC mandates, classified digital assets as property, amended UCC (KRS Chapter 355) rules on security interests in digital assets, created a Kentucky Utility Token Act and allowed custodial services by Kentucky financial institutions. Sent to House Banking & Insurance Feb 12, 2025; no further action recorded as of 7/24/2025.
- 2026-03-03: HB 825 (2026), 'relating to digital assets': introduced and referred to committee; would define cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, NFTs and blockchain terms. Sponsors not shown and no later action visible on the (third-party) tracker page; outcome unknown.
Sources: FBT Gibbons summary (secondary), HB 377 (2025) record, Legiplex tracker - KY HB 825 (2026), secondary
Source notes: Working group: 2024 annual report PDF could not be read; current chair/members unverified (latest named chair is from Dec 2020). Kentucky statute has no sunset in the text read. HB 376/377 status pages were last updated 7/24/2025; the 2025 session has since ended so they are treated as not enacted. The 2025 digital assets act is secondary-sourced and its bill number was not confirmed. This item had not received a full follow-up search at the time of review.
Frequently asked
Does Kentucky have a crypto or blockchain task force?
Kentucky has had 1 such body: Blockchain Technology Working Group (status unclear). Our confidence in this entry is Confirmed. The entry above lists who created it, who organized and leads it, and where the public records are.
Does Kentucky have a bitcoin or digital asset reserve law?
Our research shows the status as failed (confidence: Confirmed). HB 376 (2025, Rep. T.J. Roberts, 'Inflation Protection Act of 2025') would have let the State Investment Commission invest in digital assets (market-cap threshold; secondary source says 10% cap of excess funds) and bullion, and allowed agencies to accept digital assets as payment while barring CBDC. It was introduced Feb 6, 2025 and sent to House Banking & Insurance Feb 12, 2025; the Legislature page (as of 7/24/2025) shows no further action. We did not find a 2026 reserve bill and could not run further searches.
Does Kentucky regulate crypto kiosks (ATMs)?
Our research shows none found (confidence: None found). No Kentucky crypto kiosk/ATM law or bill surfaced in the sources we opened (the May 2025 FBT Gibbons article says nothing on kiosks). This item had not received a full follow-up search at the time of review.
This page is part of our 50-state crypto legislation and task force tracker. Each entry is labeled Confirmed, Reported, Unclear or None found; see the tracker for how we research it.