Massachusetts: Crypto Task Force and Legislation

Task force: Past or unclearReserve: FailedKiosks: Bill only

Task force or study body Unclear

FinTech Working Group (Massachusetts Securities Division) · Status unclear

• Created by: Administrative initiative of the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office; press coverage dated March 7-8, 2019 reports it had just been launched (no instrument or exact launch date found)
• Organized by: Office of Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin (state securities regulator)
• Led by: Not named in sources; Galvin's office organized it (source dated March 2019)
• Members: Reported to include representatives of Eastern Bank, blockchain startup Arwen (CEO Sharon Goldberg quoted), legal experts and academics; no full roster found
• Outputs and timeline: None found. Purpose was to advise securities regulators on fintech and digital assets; no report located.

Sources: American Banker, 'Massachusetts assembles fintech panel after crypto crackdown' (Mar 7, 2019) - secondary, PlanAdviser, 'Massachusetts Secretary Galvin Forms FinTech Working Group' (seen in search results only) - secondary, Future Nexus, 'Massachusetts starts fintech working group' - secondary

Special Commission on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Technology (proposed, not enacted) · Proposed, not established

• Created by: Resolve S.38 (194th General Court), filed Jan 17, 2025 by Sen. Barry Finegold; no passage recorded. Earlier versions filed in prior sessions (e.g., S.29 / H.69 in 2023-24, H.126 in 2021).
• Organized by: Would be legislative-executive: Speaker and Senate President (or designees) as co-chairs
• Led by: Would be co-chaired by the Speaker of the House and Senate President or designees (per bill text, filed Jan 2025); not in existence
• Members: Proposed 25 members: legislative leaders, Attorney General, Cannabis Control Commission chair, Commissioner of Revenue, technology and public safety secretaries, plus governor and secretary appointees including a fintech company and higher education representatives
• Outputs and timeline: None. The resolve would require a master plan report within one year of appointments. A companion version exists as H.88 (seen in search results, not opened).

Sources: Resolve S.38, malegislature.gov (primary), H.88 PDF (companion; seen in search results only)

No enacted statutory or executive-order task force found. The 2019 Galvin working group's current status could not be confirmed; no later activity located. The proposed commission resolves appear not to have been enacted in the 2025-26 session, but we did not confirm final disposition after the formal session ended July 31, 2026.

Bitcoin or digital asset reserve law Confirmed

S.1967 (Sen. Peter Durant, filed Feb 2025, 194th General Court) would have created a bitcoin strategic reserve; referred to Joint Committee on Revenue Feb 27, 2025, heard Oct 7, 2025, and on Nov 26, 2025 the Senate accompanied a study order (S2757), which in Massachusetts practice generally ends the bill's path to enactment (this interpretation is mine; the page records only the action). No later action shown. Not enacted.

Sources: S.1967 bill page, malegislature.gov (primary), Cointelegraph, Massachusetts hearing on bitcoin reserve bill (secondary, seen in search)

Licensing Reported

Chapter 312 of the Acts of 2024 created a domestic money transmission licensing regime (Chapter 169B) based on the Money Transmission Modernization Act, but per Orrick (Jan 2025) the model act's virtual currency section was not adopted, so crypto coverage is not explicit. Division of Banks regulation 209 CMR 44.00 took effect Nov 7, 2025; CSBS lists the law as effective Jan 1, 2026 while Orrick said nine months after passage (September 2025), so effective-date sources conflict. Earlier, the Division of Banks opinion 18-003 (June 14, 2018) found a crypto exchange (CEX.IO) was not required to hold a foreign transmittal agency license on the facts presented. No virtual currency-specific license found.

Sources: Orrick, Massachusetts Adopts Law to Regulate Domestic Money Transmission (Jan 2025) - secondary, Orrick, Massachusetts finalizes new money transmission regulation (Oct 31, 2025) - secondary, CSBS MTMA legislative update (Aug 2026) - secondary, Division of Banks Opinion 18-003, mass.gov (primary)

Crypto kiosks (ATMs) Confirmed

No enacted kiosk law found. S.3048, the 'SCAM Act' (reported by the Senate Committee on Financial Services April 15, 2026), would add G.L. c. 167K barring virtual currency kiosk operation in Massachusetts, enforced through c. 93A by the Attorney General. Other kiosk-regulation bills (S.804, H.1089) were filed in 2025. We could not confirm whether any of these passed before the formal session ended July 31, 2026.

Sources: S.3048, malegislature.gov (primary), S.804, malegislature.gov (primary; seen in search results only), H.1089, malegislature.gov (primary; seen in search results only)

Other 2025 to 2026 actions

• 2025-2026 (Chapter 312 of the Acts of 2024; regulation effective Nov 7, 2025): Massachusetts adopted domestic money transmission licensing (c. 169B) and 209 CMR 44.00, expanding licensing beyond foreign remittances; crypto-specific provisions not adopted.
• 2025-02-27 onward: Senate bill S.38 would create a 25-member special commission on blockchain and cryptocurrency technology; filed Jan 17, 2025, no further action shown.

Sources: Orrick, Oct 31, 2025, Resolve S.38

Source notes: Task force entry rests on 2019 press reports; no later source. Legislative status pages were read in 2026 but the formal session ended July 31, 2026, so final dispositions of S.3048, S.38 were not independently confirmed. Money transmission effective dates conflict across sources.