RS 1383 - Applicability
A. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection B or C of this Section, the provisions of this Chapter govern the virtual currency business activity of a person, wherever located, who engages in or holds itself out as engaging in the activity with, or on behalf of, a resident.
B. This Chapter shall not apply to the exchange, transfer, or storage of virtual currency or to virtual currency administration to the extent the activity is governed by any of the following federal or state laws:
(1) The Electronic Fund Transfer Act of 1978.
(2) The Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
(3) The Commodities Exchange Act of 1936.
(4) The Louisiana Securities Law, R.S. 51:701 et seq.
C. This Chapter shall not apply to activity by any of the following:
(1) The United States, a state, political subdivision of a state, agency, or instrumentality of federal, state, or local government, or a foreign government or a subdivision, department, agency, or instrumentality of a foreign government.
(2) A regulated financial institution.
(3) A person whose participation in a payment system is limited to providing processing, clearing, or performing settlement services solely for transactions between or among persons that are exempt from the licensing or registration requirements of this Chapter.
(4) A person engaged in the business of dealing in foreign exchange to the extent the person's activity meets the definition in 31 CFR 1010.605(f)(1)(iv).
(5) A person who does any of the following:
(a) Contributes only connectivity software or computing power to a decentralized virtual currency or to a protocol governing transfer of the digital representation of value.
(b) Provides only data storage or security services for a business engaged in virtual currency business activity and does not otherwise engage in virtual currency business activity on behalf of another person.
(c) Provides only to a person otherwise exempt from the provisions of this Chapter virtual currency as one or more enterprise solutions used solely among each other and that has no agreement or relationship with a resident that is an end-user of virtual currency.
(6) A person using virtual currency, including creating, investing, buying or selling, or obtaining virtual currency as payment for the purchase or sale of goods or services, solely on the person's own behalf for personal, family, or household purposes or for academic purposes.
(7) A person whose virtual currency business activity with, or on behalf of, residents is reasonably expected to be valued, in the aggregate, on an annual basis at five thousand dollars or less, measured by the United States dollar equivalent of virtual currency.
(8) An attorney to the extent of providing escrow services to a resident.
(9) A title insurance company to the extent of providing escrow services to a resident.
(10) A securities intermediary, as defined in R.S. 10:8-102(a), or a commodity intermediary, as defined in R.S. 10:9-102(a), that does not engage in the ordinary course of business in virtual currency business activity with, or on behalf of, a resident, in addition to maintaining securities accounts or commodities accounts and is regulated as a securities intermediary or commodity intermediary pursuant to federal law, law of this state other than the provisions of this Chapter, or law of another state, and affords a resident protections comparable to those provided in R.S. 10:8-501 et seq.
(11) A secured creditor pursuant to R.S. 10:9-101 et seq. or a creditor with a judicial lien, or lien arising by operation of law, on collateral that is virtual currency, if the virtual currency business activity of the creditor is limited to enforcement of the security interest in compliance with R.S. 10:9-101 et seq. or lien in compliance with the law applicable to the lien.
(12) A virtual currency control services vendor.
(13) A person who does not receive compensation from a resident for providing virtual currency products or services or for conducting virtual currency business activity, or that is engaged in testing products or services with the person's own funds.
D. The department may determine that a person or class of persons, given facts particular to the person or class, are exempt from the provisions of this Chapter, whether the person or class is covered by requirements imposed pursuant to federal law on a money-service business.
Acts 2020, No. 341, §1.