South Dakota Governor Vetoes Digital Assets Bill

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Governor Kristi Noem rejected a South Dakota House bill that would potentially infringe on citizens' rights to use digital assets.

In his letter to members of the House of RepresentativesSouth Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said the bill's approach to defining digital assets directly correlates with the definition of "money" and automatically excludes cryptocurrencies from circulation. At the same time, at the legislative level it is proposed to include Central Bank digital currencies (CBDC) in the concept of “money”.

According to Governor Noem, this approachis contrary to a free market economy because it limits individual freedom and personal responsibility, and affects the ways in which people choose to transact.

“Accepting the definition of money as proposedversion of the bill, we give the federal government a free hand to easily accept the Central Bank's digital currency, which would then become the only viable digital currency in the country. While no such government-backed digital currency has been created at this time, it would be imprudent to create rules that condone potential future abuse by the federal government,” Noem said.

Earlier, the relevant committee of the Missouri House of Representatives approved a draft law to protect the mining of digital assets. Previously, a similar bill passed approval in the Mississippi State Senate.