House Commerce committee advances virtual currency licensing and kiosk safeguards

The House Commerce Committee on May 11 reported two measures aimed at regulating virtual-currency businesses and kiosk operators, moving both to the next stage with amendments intended to protect consumers.

Senate Bill 163, presented by Senator Reese, keeps Louisiana’s licensing regime for virtual-currency firms in place but adds an amendment that would allow federal law to preempt the state framework if a national licensing standard is enacted. "Rather than continue to reset the sunset date... adopting this amendment, we'll just basically have a standard in our law that says that if the federal government finally enacts federal legislation that deals with the licensing of virtual currency businesses, it will preempt our state law," Reese said.

Michelle Johnson of the Office of Financial Institutions told the committee the agency’s biannual report showed 37 active licensees and 33 pending applications as of late 2025. She said she would provide revenue and cost figures to the committee on request. "We currently have 37 licensees," Johnson said.

Senate Bill 287, also advanced, targets consumer protections at crypto kiosks. The bill as amended requires kiosk operators to acknowledge refund requests within 10 days, complete a refund within 90 days (with allowances if a police report is needed), maintain a live customer-support line during hours of operation and file quarterly reports with OFI on refund requests. Joe Gendron of the Louisiana Bankers Association told lawmakers that banks and law enforcement had urged stronger disclosures and shorter, clearer refund processes to protect customers from fraud. "Because of this tight window... that customer has every... remedy," Gendron said, describing stakeholder feedback.

Committee members asked how OFI would enforce refunds for unlicensed operators; witnesses said enforcement would be complaint-driven, with civil penalties and potential referrals to the attorney general. "They've got civil penalties. They've got the ability to refer to the attorney general," a stakeholder said.

Both bills were reported favorable with adopted amendments. The committee read supporting statements from banking and law-enforcement groups into the record.