The Idaho money transmitter license is administered by the Idaho Department of Finance's Securities Bureau under Idaho Code Title 26, ch. 29 — a 1994 statute last amended in 2015. Its crypto coverage rests on a single sentence of Department policy: the Money Transmitters Act itself never uses the words "virtual currency," "digital asset," or "cryptocurrency."
That policy sentence covers a virtual currency exchanger that accepts legal tender for later delivery to a third party in connection with a purchase of virtual currency — the classic fiat on-ramp — but it does not address crypto-to-crypto exchange, standalone custodial wallets, stablecoin issuance, or non-custodial software, and the guide is firm that silence there is not exemption. Idaho also skips the usual fingerprint-based background check for control persons, requiring instead a documented five-year history of material litigation and non-traffic convictions.
What the guide covers:
- Fees totaling $220 — a $100 statutory application fee plus $120 NMLS processing, with no statutory renewal fee
- Bond: $10,000 minimum plus $5,000 per additional Idaho location or authorized representative, capped at $500,000
- Net worth: $50,000 GAAP, plus $25,000 per location, capped at $250,000, audited annually
- A 180-day review with genuine deemed approval — but an application idle 90 days after a deficiency notice is withdrawn as abandoned
- The narrow § 26-2904 exemption list, with a knowing and willful violation charged as a felony
- Digital asset custody routed through a separate authority, the Idaho Trust Institutions Act