The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 8 : Banking and Insurance

Chapter 079 : Money Services

Subchapter 010 : VIRTUAL CURRENCY

• § 2574. Required disclosures

  (a) A person licensed under subchapter 2 of this chapter to engage in virtual-currency business activity shall provide the disclosures required by this section and any additional disclosure the Commissioner determines reasonably necessary for the protection of the public.

  (1) A disclosure required by this section must be made separately from any other information provided by the licensee and in a clear and conspicuous manner in a record the person may keep.

  (2) The Commissioner may waive one or more requirements in subsections (b)–(d) of this section and approve alternative disclosures proposed by a licensee if the Commissioner determines that the alternative disclosure is more appropriate for the virtual-currency business activity and provides the same or equivalent information and protection to the public.

  (b) Before engaging in virtual-currency business activity with a person, a licensee shall disclose, to the extent applicable to the virtual-currency business activity the licensee will undertake with the person:

  (1) a schedule of fees and charges the licensee may assess, the manner by which fees and charges will be calculated if they are not set in advance and disclosed, and the timing of the fees and charges, including general disclosure regarding mark-ups and mark-downs on purchases, sales, or exchanges of virtual currency in which the licensee or any affiliate thereof is acting in a principal capacity;

  (2) whether the product or service provided by the licensee is covered by:

  (A) a form of insurance or is otherwise guaranteed against loss by an agency of the United States:

  (i) up to the full U.S. dollar equivalent of virtual currency purchased from the licensee or for control of virtual currency by the licensee as of the date of the placement or purchase, including the maximum amount provided by insurance under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or otherwise available from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation; or

  (ii) if not provided at the full U.S. dollar equivalent of virtual currency purchased from the licensee or for control of virtual currency by the licensee, the maximum amount of coverage for each person expressed in the U.S. dollar equivalent of the virtual currency; or

  (B) private insurance against theft or loss, including cyber theft or theft by other means;

  (3) the irrevocability of a transfer or exchange and any exception to irrevocability;

  (4) a description of:

  (A) liability for an unauthorized, mistaken, or accidental transfer or exchange;

  (B) the person’s responsibility to provide notice to the licensee of the transfer or exchange;

  (C) the basis for any recovery by the person from the licensee;

  (D) general error-resolution rights applicable to the transfer or exchange; and

  (E) the method for the person to update the person’s contact information with the licensee;

  (5) that the date or time when the transfer or exchange is made and the person’s account is debited may differ from the date or time when the person initiates the instruction to make the transfer or exchange;

  (6) whether the person has a right to stop a preauthorized payment or revoke authorization for a transfer and the procedure to initiate a stop-payment order or revoke authorization for a subsequent transfer;

  (7) the person’s right to receive a receipt, trade ticket, or other evidence of the transfer or exchange;

  (8) the person’s right to at least 30 days’ prior notice of a change in the licensee’s fee schedule, other terms and conditions of operating its virtual-currency business activity with the person, and the policies applicable to the person’s account; and

  (9) that virtual currency is not money.

  (c) In connection with any virtual-currency transaction effected through a money transmission kiosk in this State, or in any transaction where the licensee or any affiliate thereof is acting in a principal capacity in a sale of virtual currency to, or purchase of virtual currency from, a customer, then immediately prior to effecting such a purchase or sale transaction with or on behalf of a customer, a licensee shall prominently disclose and require the customer to acknowledge and confirm:

  (1) the type, value, date, precise time, and amount of the transaction; and

  (2) the consideration charged for the transaction, including:

  (A) any charge, fee, commission, or other consideration for any trade, exchange, conversion, or transfer involving virtual currency; and

  (B) any difference between the price paid by the customer for any virtual currency and the prevailing market price of such virtual currency, if any.

  (d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this section, at the conclusion of a virtual-currency transaction with or on behalf of a person, a licensee shall provide the person with a receipt that contains:

  (1) the name and contact information of the licensee, including information the person may need to ask a question or file a complaint;

  (2) the type, value, date, precise time, and amount of the transaction;

  (3) the consideration charged for the transaction, including:

  (A) any charge, fee, commission, or other consideration for any trade, exchange, conversion, or transfer involving virtual currency; or

  (B) the amount of any difference between the price paid by the customer for any virtual currency and the prevailing market price of such virtual currency, if any; and

  (4) any other information required pursuant to section 2562 of this title.

  (e) If a licensee discloses that it will provide a daily confirmation in the initial disclosure under subsection (c) of this section, the licensee may elect to provide a single, daily confirmation for all transactions with or on behalf of a person on that day instead of a per-transaction confirmation. (Added 2023, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 48, eff. July 1, 2024.)