SB 1208: Money laundering: digital assets.
This bill would expand the crime of money laundering to include conducting transactions involving digital financial assets, such as cryptocurrencies and wallets. Law enforcement can obtain a search warrant to seize digital financial assets with probable cause that they contain proceeds of a crime. The seized assets can be forfeited within 180 days, with notice given to potential owners and those with security interests. Anyone claiming an interest in the assets must file a verified claim within 30 days, and the court will adjudicate and resolve these claims. The remaining assets will be forfeited, and victims can receive the assets if they have a legitimate claim.
- What is the current status of SB 1208?
- As of September 29, 2026, SB 1208 is recorded as "Chaptered/Signed": it has been signed by the Governor and chaptered into law. The last recorded action, on September 27, 2026, was "Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 483, Statutes of 2026".
- Did SB 1208 pass?
- Yes. SB 1208 passed both houses and was signed into law (last action September 27, 2026). Most California bills signed in a given year take effect on January 1 of the following year, unless the bill carries an urgency clause or sets its own operative date.
- Who wrote SB 1208, and where is it now?
- SB 1208 was authored by Sen. Tim Grayson. It is filed under Penal, alongside 281 other California Penal bills this session.
| Sep. 27, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 483, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep. 27, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep. 04, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m. |
| Aug. 28, 2026 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | Ordered to special consent calendar. |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:SEC. 2.
Section 186.9 of the Penal Code is amended to read:186.9.
As used in this chapter:SEC. 3.
Section 186.9 is added to the Penal Code, to read:186.9.
As used in this chapter:SEC. 4.
Section 186.10 of the Penal Code is amended to read:186.10.
(a) (1) Any person who conducts or attempts to conduct a transaction or more than one transaction within a seven-day period involving a monetary instrument or instruments or digital assets of a total value exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or a total value exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) within a 30-day period, through one or more financial institutions, or using any digital asset, either with the specific intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or carrying on of any criminal activity, or knowing that the monetary instrument or digital asset represents the proceeds of, or is derived directly or indirectly from the proceeds of, criminal activity, is guilty of the crime of money laundering. The aggregation periods do not create an obligation for financial institutions to record, report, create, or implement tracking systems or otherwise monitor transactions involving monetary instruments in any time period. In consideration of the constitutional right to counsel afforded by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 15 of Article I of the California Constitution, when a case involves an attorney who accepts a fee for representing a client in a criminal investigation or proceeding, the prosecution shall additionally be required to prove that the monetary instrument was accepted by the attorney with the intent to disguise or aid in disguising the source of the funds or the nature of the criminal activity.SEC. 5.
Section 186.10 is added to the Penal Code, to read:186.10.
(a) Any person who conducts or attempts to conduct a transaction or more than one transaction within a seven-day period involving a monetary instrument or instruments of a total value exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or a total value exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) within a 30-day period, through one or more financial institutions (1) with the specific intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or carrying on of any criminal activity, or (2) knowing that the monetary instrument represents the proceeds of, or is derived directly or indirectly from the proceeds of, criminal activity, is guilty of the crime of money laundering. The aggregation periods do not create an obligation for financial institutions to record, report, create, or implement tracking systems or otherwise monitor transactions involving monetary instruments in any time period. In consideration of the constitutional right to counsel afforded by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 15 of Article I of the California Constitution, when a case involves an attorney who accepts a fee for representing a client in a criminal investigation or proceeding, the prosecution shall additionally be required to prove that the monetary instrument was accepted by the attorney with the intent to disguise or aid in disguising the source of the funds or the nature of the criminal activity.SEC. 6.
Section 186.13 is added to the Penal Code, to read:186.13.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 1524, a law enforcement officer or prosecuting agency, as defined, may obtain a search warrant to seize digital assets or wallets, accounts, or similar things containing digital assets (collectively “digital assets”), upon a showing of probable cause that the digital assets meet any of the following:SEC. 7.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.