Louisiana: Crypto Task Force and Legislation

Task force: ActiveReserve: FailedKiosks: Law

Task force or study body Confirmed

Task Force on Blockchain and Digital Innovation · Active

• Created by: Senate Concurrent Resolution 68 (SCR 68), 2026 Regular Session, by Sen. Michael 'Big Mike' Fesi; Senate adopted May 13, 2026 (36-0), House concurred June 1, 2026 (90-0); sent to Secretary of State June 2, 2026.
• Organized by: Louisiana Legislature (Senate and House Commerce committees); staffed by the staff of those committees. Convened at the call of the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs.
• Led by: Chair to be elected by members at the first meeting (due by Oct 1, 2026); no chair identified on the Legislature's board page (source viewed Nov 2, 2026). Contact listed: Darcas Deverteuil, Senate Committee on Commerce.
• Members: 15 members as listed on the Legislature's board page: Sen. Beth Mizell and Sen. Michael 'Big Mike' Fesi Sr.; Rep. Josh Carlson and Rep. Daryl Deshotel; industry members Dustin Bailey, Arthur Boisfontaine (CEO, CCI Productions), James B. Davis, Joseph V. Gendron, Michael Levin (VP of Product, Lightning Labs), Wayne Marcel; ex officio (or designees) Michelle Jeansonne (Commissioner, Office of Financial Institutions), Justin Lester (Attorney General's Office), Ryan Pereira (listed for State Treasurer), Clint Summers (Louisiana Workforce Commission), Mark Wright (listed for Secretary of State). Whether the ex officio names are the officials or designees is not stated.
• Outputs and timeline: Written report with recommendations and draft legislation due no later than May 1, 2027; task force ends on submission of the report or May 1, 2027, whichever is first. We found no meeting notices or minutes confirming that the first meeting occurred.

Sources: Legislature board page - Task Force on Blockchain and Digital Innovation (SCR 68), SCR 68 bill page, SCR 68 enrolled text

House subcommittee to study artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cryptocurrency · Status unclear

• Created by: House Resolution 317 (HR 317), 2025 Regular Session, by Rep. Mark Wright; adopted June 10, 2025 (90-0), signed June 11, 2025.
• Organized by: Louisiana House of Representatives (House Committee on Commerce).
• Led by: Chairperson of the House Committee on Commerce, or his designee, chairs the initial meeting (per resolution text; individual not named in the source).
• Members: Members of the House Committee on Commerce.
• Outputs and timeline: Initial meeting due before Sept 1, 2025; written report due on or before Feb 1, 2026 to the House Commerce Committee and the Poynter Legislative Research Library. We did not find the report or meeting records. No sunset in the resolution.

Sources: HR 317 bill page, HR 317 original text

Louisiana Digital Assets Working Group (Cash Management Review Board acting as the working group) · Concluded

• Created by: House Concurrent Resolution 103 (HCR 103), 2022 Regular Session, by Rep. Mark Wright; House adopted May 24, 2022 (97-0), Senate concurred June 2, 2022; presented to Secretary of State June 6, 2022.
• Organized by: Cash Management Review Board (state treasury-related board), at the Legislature's direction.
• Led by: Not identified in the resolution or sources read.
• Members: The Cash Management Review Board, plus a broader advisory group of fintech experts the working group was directed to develop; no further membership details.
• Outputs and timeline: Findings and recommendations on legal/regulatory improvements were due to the State Treasurer on or before Feb 1, 2023; we did not find the report.

Sources: HCR 103 (2022) bill page, HCR 103 enrolled text, Business Report article on HCR 103 (secondary, May 18, 2022)

Newest and most significant entry is the SCR 68 task force. A CryptoSlate article (June 2025) described the House resolution as a blockchain/AI task force with findings due Feb 2026; that corresponds to HR 317.

Bitcoin or digital asset reserve law Reported

2026 Regular Session: HB 619 (Rep. Mark Wright) would have let the State Treasurer invest up to 5% of the Budget Stabilization Fund in certain metals and digital assets (held by qualified custodians); the Legislature's page snapshot showed it pending in House Appropriations (scheduled Apr 7, 2026) with no later action. HB 603 (Rep. Wright), a constitutional amendment to allow investment of state funds in digital assets and precious metals (vote planned for Nov 3, 2026), cleared Appropriations 16-0 (Apr 27) and Civil Law 5-3 (May 5) but was never given final House passage; a secondary source lists both as expired when the session adjourned June 1, 2026. We could not open a post-session official status for either bill.

Sources: Louisiana Legislature - HB 619 (2026), Louisiana Legislature - HB 603 (2026), CryptoSlate - HB 603 (secondary, source of 'expired')

Licensing Confirmed

Louisiana licenses virtual currency businesses under the Virtual Currency Businesses Act (Acts 341 of 2020; definitions at La. R.S. 6:1382) administered by the Office of Financial Institutions (OFI), with rules at LAC 10:I.1901 et seq.; applications through NMLS began Jan 1, 2023 and operating without a license has been prohibited since July 1, 2023. SB 185 (Acts 331, 2023) added bonding, net-worth, audit and reporting requirements. Excluded from the definition: certain rewards/in-game value, mining, NFT minting and activity not involving Louisiana residents' virtual currency. SB 163 (2026), 'relative to the licensing and regulation of virtual currency businesses,' was engrossed Mar 24, 2026 and OFI lists it as 2026 VCBA sunset legislation (posted July 24, 2026); we did not confirm its final status or content.

Sources: OFI - Virtual Currency Businesses Act page, SB 163 (2026) tracker page (secondary)

Crypto kiosks (ATMs) Confirmed

HB 483 (Act 369 of 2025), signed June 20, 2025 and effective Aug 1, 2025, brings anyone who owns, operates, solicits, markets or facilitates a virtual currency kiosk under the VCBA: $3,000 daily limit per user, 72-hour hold (or cancellation with refund within 72 hours), clear disclosures and written fraud-prevention policies. SB 287 (Act 482 of 2026), signed May 29, 2026 and effective Aug 1, 2026, adds cancellation/refund rules (unlicensed operators must refund in full at their expense; refunds within 90 days; acknowledgments within 10 business days), live phone support, quarterly refund reports to OFI, and receipt content requirements. Details come from OFI summaries; the Act texts were not read.

Sources: OFI - 2025 kiosk public notice (Act 369 / HB 483), OFI - 2026 VCBA legislation notice (Act 482 / SB 287), OFI - Virtual Currency Businesses Act page

Other 2025 to 2026 actions

• 2026-05-29: Act 482 (SB 287) signed: expanded kiosk refund, support, reporting and receipt rules under the VCBA, effective Aug 1, 2026 (see kiosks).
• 2026-03-24 (engrossed); OFI notice 2026-07-24: SB 163 (2026) on licensing and regulation of virtual currency businesses (effective date 8/1/26 in caption) advanced through the Senate; OFI posted it with SB 287 as VCBA sunset legislation. Final passage and act number not confirmed.
• 2026-07-06: OFI's VCBA page lists a July 6, 2026 consumer alert concerning Bitcoin Depot; we did not open the alert, so its contents are not described here.

Sources: OFI notice on SB 287, SB 163 tracker page (secondary), OFI VCBA page, OFI VCBA page

Source notes: SCR 68 task force: first meeting (due by Oct 1, 2026) and chair election unverified; board page may not have been updated; ex officio names may be designees. HR 317 subcommittee report (due Feb 1, 2026) not located. HCR 103 working group report not located. Reserve bills' final status relies on a secondary source and stale official snapshots. SB 163 outcome unconfirmed.