The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 8 : Banking and Insurance

Chapter 079 : Money Services

Subchapter 010 : VIRTUAL CURRENCY

• § 2574. Required disclosures

  (a) Licensee disclosures, generally. 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) Licensee disclosures prior to business activity. 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) Disclosures.

  (1) Disclosures prior to each virtual-currency transaction. In connection with any virtual-currency transaction effected through a virtual-currency 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 shall require the customer to acknowledge and confirm the terms and conditions of the virtual-currency transaction, which shall include the following:

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

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

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

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

  (C) for a customer of a virtual-currency kiosk, a description of the virtual-currency kiosk operator’s refund policy, which shall be consistent with the requirements specified in subsections 2577(k) and (l) of this subchapter;

  (D) for a customer of a virtual-currency kiosk, the customer warning described in subdivision (g)(1) of this section; and

  (E) the daily transaction limit, if applicable.

  (2) Disclosures for new kiosk accounts. When opening an account for a new customer, and prior to entering into an initial transaction for, on behalf of, or with such customer, each virtual-currency kiosk operator shall disclose relevant terms and conditions associated with its products, services, and activities and with virtual currency, generally, including disclosures substantially similar to the following:

  (A) the customer’s liability for unauthorized virtual-currency transactions;

  (B) under what circumstances the virtual-currency kiosk operator will, absent a court or government order, disclose information concerning the customer’s account to third parties;

  (C) the customer’s right to receive periodic account statements and valuations from the virtual-currency kiosk operator;

  (D) the customer’s right to receive a receipt, trade ticket, or other evidence of a transaction;

  (E) the customer’s right to prior notice of a change in the virtual-currency kiosk operator’s rules or policies;

  (F) a statement of the material risks associated with virtual-currency transactions, generally, as described in subsection (h) of this section;

  (G) the name and telephone number of the Department of Financial Regulation and a statement disclosing that a customer may contact the Department with questions or complaints about a licensee; and

  (H) such other disclosures as are customarily given in connection with the opening of customer accounts.

  (d) Licensee receipt requirements. 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 expressed in U.S. currency;

  (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) Licensee daily confirmation. If a licensee discloses that it will provide a daily confirmation in the initial disclosure under subsection (b) 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.

  (f) Kiosk transaction receipt. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a virtual-currency kiosk operator shall provide a customer with both a paper and an electronic receipt in a retainable form for each virtual-currency transaction completed at a virtual-currency kiosk. In addition to the information required to be included in a receipt under subsection (d) of this section or under section 2562 of this title, each receipt for a virtual-currency transaction completed at a virtual-currency kiosk shall include:

  (1) the identification of any applicable digital wallet address to which virtual currency is transmitted;

  (2) the full name of the account owner;

  (3) any unique transaction identifiers;

  (4) a prominent statement of the virtual-currency kiosk operator’s refund obligations under this section, in a form approved by the Commissioner;

  (5) a statement of the operator’s liability for nondelivery or delayed delivery of virtual currency; and

  (6) the name and telephone number of the Department of Financial Regulation and a statement disclosing that a customer may contact the Department with questions or complaints about an operator.

  (g) Customer warning.

  (1) Prior to entering into a virtual-currency transaction with a customer at a virtual-currency kiosk, and as required by subdivision (c)(1)(D) of this section, each virtual-currency kiosk operator shall ensure a warning is disclosed to the customer substantially similar to the following:

  Customer Notice. Please Read Carefully.

  Did you receive a phone call from your bank, software provider, the police, or were you directed to make a payment for Social Security, a utility bill, an investment, warrants, or bail money at this kiosk? STOP

  Is anyone on the phone pressuring you to make a payment of any kind? STOP

  I understand that the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency may be a final, irreversible, and nonrefundable transaction.

  I confirm I am sending funds to a digital wallet I own or directly have control over. I confirm that I am using funds gained from my own initiative to make my transaction.

  (2) A virtual-currency kiosk operator shall ensure a customer has a readily accessible opportunity to end a transaction for any reason prior to its completion.

  (h) Statement of material risks. As used in subdivision (c)(2)(F) of this section, a statement of material risks associated with virtual-currency transactions, generally, shall include disclosures substantially similar to the following:

  (1) Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or Securities Investor Protection Corporation protections.

  (2) Legislative and regulatory changes or actions at the State, federal, or international level may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, and value of virtual currency.

  (3) Transactions in virtual currency may be irreversible and, accordingly, losses due to fraudulent or accidental transactions may not be recoverable.

  (4) Some virtual-currency transactions shall be deemed to be made when recorded on a public ledger, which is not necessarily the date or time that the customer initiates the transaction.

  (5) The value of virtual currency may be derived from the continued willingness of market participants to exchange fiat currency for virtual currency, which may result in the potential for permanent and total loss of value of a particular virtual currency should the market for that virtual currency disappear.

  (6) There is no assurance that a person who accepts a virtual currency as payment today will continue to do so in the future.

  (7) The volatility and unpredictability of the price of virtual currency relative to fiat currency may result in significant loss over a short period of time.

  (8) The nature of virtual currency may lead to an increased risk of fraud or cyber attack.

  (9) The nature of virtual currency means that any technological difficulties experienced by the virtual-currency kiosk operator may prevent the access or use of a customer’s virtual currency.

  (10) Any bond or trust account maintained by the virtual-currency kiosk operator for the benefit of its customers may not be sufficient to cover all losses incurred by customers. (Added 2023, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 48, eff. July 1, 2024; amended 2025, No. 23, § 23, eff. July 1, 2025.)