Tennessee: Crypto Task Force and Legislation

Task force: Proposed onlyReserve: None foundKiosks: LawNeeds follow-up check

Task force or study body None found

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Study Committee (proposed, HB 2643, 2022) · Proposed, not established

• Created by: Proposed by Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) and introduced about Feb. 2, 2022. We found no evidence it was enacted, but we could not open the Tennessee legislature's bill page to confirm its final status.
• Organized by: Not applicable (bill only).
• Led by: Not applicable; no body confirmed.
• Members: Not applicable.
• Outputs and timeline: None found.

Sources: PYMNTS - Powell's HB 2643/2644, Feb. 10, 2022 (secondary), The Block - HB 2644 coverage mentioning HB 2643 (secondary)

TokenizeTN / Tennessee Blockchain Summit (non-governmental initiative hosted at state ECD offices) · Status unclear

• Created by: Informal initiative, October 2018; no statute or executive order.
• Organized by: Waller Lansden (attorney Kristen Johns) with Consensys; hosted by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
• Led by: Kristen Johns, partner, Waller (source dated Oct./Nov. 2018); ECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe hosted (2018). Both are stale as leadership information.
• Members: 30+ representatives from business, economic development and government attended the 2018 session, per the sources below. A later Venture Nashville headline refers to TokenizeTN naming an executive director; we have not reviewed that article, so its date and details are unconfirmed.
• Outputs and timeline: Intended blockchain strategy/action plan; no published report found.

Sources: Trade & Industry Development, Nov. 6, 2018, Venture Nashville, Oct. 23, 2018

We found no Tennessee Blockchain Economic Task Force or similar official body. Treat this as 'none confirmed', not 'none exists'. We did not find a source saying any Tennessee body follows The Digital Chamber's model task force bill.

Bitcoin or digital asset reserve law Reported

No Tennessee reserve law exists as far as we found. The Tennessee Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (HB 1695 by Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson; SB 2639 by Sen. Kerry Roberts) was filed in January-February 2026 in the 114th General Assembly. It would have let the State Treasurer invest up to 10% of eligible funds (such as the general fund and revenue fluctuation reserve) in bitcoin only, with annual purchases capped at 5%. The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee recommended SB 2639 on March 10, 2026 (8-0); the House bill was sent to Finance, Ways and Means with a negative recommendation on March 2 and taken off notice in subcommittee on April 15, 2026. A Senate Finance hearing was calendared for April 21, but the legislature adjourned April 23, 2026 with no further action recorded, so the bills expired. These details come from a bill-tracking profile and trade press rather than the legislature's own pages. Earlier, HB 2644 (2022, Rep. Jason Powell) would have allowed investment in cryptocurrency and NFTs but did not advance in the sources we opened.

Sources: CryptoSlate - HB 1695 profile (secondary), CryptoSlate - SB 2639 profile (secondary), Bitcoin Magazine - HB 1695 filed, Jan. 30, 2026 (secondary), Bitcoin Magazine - HB 2644 introduced, 2022 (secondary)

Licensing Confirmed

The Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions (TDFI) published a position memo on Dec. 16, 2015, signed by Commissioner Greg Gonzales. It says virtual currency is not 'money' under the Tennessee Money Transmitter Act, so crypto-for-crypto trades, custody or transfers of virtual currency alone, and direct two-party sales are generally not money transmission. Exchanges that hold a buyer's government-issued currency as an intermediary generally are, and Bitcoin ATMs that route trades through a third-party exchange usually are. Virtual currency cannot count toward a licensee's net worth or permissible investments. TDFI's June 4, 2026 kiosk bulletin refers to licensees under the Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA), so the licensing framework appears to have been updated since 2015; we have not confirmed whether the 2015 memo remains current policy. A 2024 bill (HB 2309 / SB 2370, the 'Blockchain Basics Act') that would have excluded miners, node operators and self-custody from money transmission licensing failed when the session adjourned in April 2024 (secondary source).

Sources: TDFI memo on virtual currency, Dec. 16, 2015, TDFI Bulletin C-26-1, June 4, 2026, CryptoSlate - 2024 Blockchain Basics Act profile (secondary)

Crypto kiosks (ATMs) Confirmed

Tennessee bans virtual currency kiosks outright. HB 2505 (Speaker Cameron Sexton and Rep. Jay Reedy; companion SB 2251) passed the House 94-0 and the Senate 32-0 on March 16, 2026, was signed by Gov. Bill Lee on April 13, 2026, and was assigned Public Chapter 766 on April 23, 2026. Effective July 1, 2026, it is a Class A misdemeanor to knowingly install, permit, place or operate a virtual currency kiosk in the state; the definition of operator reaches anyone who owns a kiosk located in Tennessee or knowingly allows one on property they own, lease or control. TDFI Bulletin C-26-1 (June 4, 2026) asked MTMA licensees running kiosks to tell the department by June 18, 2026 how they would stop; it describes no kiosk licensing path. Court challenge: GPD Holdings LLC (CoinFlip) and Charles Wernicke, CEO of Private IT Corporation, sought a temporary restraining order, arguing the law burdens interstate commerce. Press reports say a federal court denied it, with the Attorney General announcing the result on July 7, 2026; the court reportedly found the plaintiffs had not shown a likely win and that the public interest in enforcing the law outweighed their economic harm. The case continues. We could not confirm the court's district, the judge or the case number, and we did not read the order itself.

Sources: TDFI Bulletin C-26-1, June 4, 2026, Bill tracker - HB 2505 history (Public Chapter 766), Orrick - Tennessee enacts kiosk ban, Apr. 16, 2026 (secondary), Tennessee House Republican Caucus release, Mar. 18, 2026, Bitcoin.com - court rejects emergency challenge (secondary), ATM Marketplace - federal court and ban (secondary)

Industry groups (non-governmental)

• Tennessee Blockchain Alliance: Private industry group referenced in 2018 coverage, associated with John Wagster of Frost Brown Todd. We could not confirm that it is currently active, and we found no evidence it is a member of the North American Blockchain Association (it is not among the known members we were given).
• TokenizeTN: Non-governmental blockchain ecosystem initiative launched in 2018 with Waller and Consensys and hosted at state ECD offices; a later headline reports it named an executive director (not reviewed). Current status unconfirmed. No NABA membership found.

Sources: Venture Nashville - Tennessee Blockchain Alliance coverage, Venture Nashville, Oct. 23, 2018

Other 2025 to 2026 actions

• 2026-04-13: Gov. Bill Lee signed HB 2505 (Public Chapter 766), banning virtual currency kiosks effective July 1, 2026; TDFI told licensees to wind down kiosk operations.
• 2026-07-07: Press reports say a federal court denied a temporary restraining order sought by CoinFlip (GPD Holdings LLC) and a second plaintiff against the kiosk ban; the ban remains enforceable while the case continues (secondary sources).
• 2026-04-23: Tennessee Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (HB 1695 / SB 2639) expired when the 114th General Assembly adjourned, after clearing a Senate committee but not reaching a floor vote (bill-tracking profile).
• 2018-03-22: Historical: HB 1507 / SB 1662 (2018), sponsored by Sen. Steve Dickerson and Rep. Jason Powell, amended the state's electronic-transactions law to recognize blockchain records and smart contracts; reported signed by Gov. Haslam March 22, 2018 (secondary).

Sources: Bill tracker - HB 2505 history, TDFI Bulletin C-26-1, Bitcoin.com (secondary), ATM Marketplace (secondary), CryptoSlate - SB 2639 (secondary), CryptoSlate - HB 1695 (secondary), Venture Nashville, Mar. 20, 2018

Source notes: Task force, reserve and kiosk findings are current as of Nov. 2, 2026. Leadership information for TokenizeTN dates from 2018. The Tennessee legislature's bill pages could not be accessed, so bill histories rely on a bill-tracking site, TDFI and press. The kiosk court order was not read directly; its district, judge and case number are unconfirmed. TDFI's 2015 virtual currency memo may predate the MTMA framework.