Indiana Prohibits Virtual Currency Kiosks

On March 9, Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed House Bill 1116 into law, prohibiting the operation of virtual currency kiosks in Indiana and making violations actionable under the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.

The new law prohibits virtual currency kiosk operations in Indiana and creates a separate statutory framework governing those terminals. The statute defines a “virtual currency kiosk” broadly to include an electronic terminal through which an operator remotely conducts or facilitates a virtual currency transaction on behalf of a third party for compensation. By pairing that prohibition with deceptive acts treatment and additional remedies, the law gives Indiana a more restrictive approach than states that have opted to regulate kiosk activity through licensing and operational requirements.

Key provisions of the bill include:

• Prohibition on kiosk operations. A person may not operate a virtual currency kiosk in Indiana. The statute defines a kiosk broadly enough to capture electronic terminals used to conduct or facilitate virtual currency transactions on behalf of a third party for compensation.
• Deceptive acts treatment. A violation of the chapter constitutes a deceptive act actionable by the attorney general under the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. That structure places kiosk enforcement within Indiana’s existing consumer-protection framework.
• Potential liability for property owners. The attorney general may also bring an action against the owner of the premises where the kiosk is located if the owner knowingly or intentionally permitted the violation. This extends potential exposure beyond the kiosk operator itself.

The law is effective immediately, meaning Indiana did not provide a delayed compliance period for affected businesses.

Putting It Into Practice: Indiana’s law reflects a more restrictive approach to digital asset kiosks than the licensing and compliance frameworks other states have recently adopted (previously discussed here and here). For businesses operating in this space, the development is another reminder that states are not moving in a uniform direction. Operators and service providers should monitor these developments and update market access and compliance strategies as necessary.

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