Overview
- Assembly Bill 471 would exclude mining, staking, running nodes, developing blockchain software, using self-hosted wallets, and token‑to‑token trades from Wisconsin money‑transmitter licensing.
- The measure prohibits state agencies and local governments from restricting residents who accept digital assets for lawful payments or take self‑custody via hardware or self‑hosted wallets.
- Exemptions stop at fiat gateways, leaving custodial services and crypto‑to‑dollar conversions under existing state licensing and federal compliance obligations.
- The bill, backed by nine Republican sponsors and one Democrat, was introduced on September 30 and referred to the Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions for review.
- Parallel legislation would license virtual currency kiosks, reflecting a split approach as Wisconsin advances kiosk oversight alongside protections for fully on‑chain activity.