SD Gov. Urges 20 States to Block Laws Banning Use of Crypto as Money – Says ‘It’s a Threat to Our Freedoms’ – Featured
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has vetoed a bill that would prohibit the use of cryptocurrenciesincluding Bitcoin, as money forbids. The statement, disguised as an update to the Universal Commercial Code (UCC) guidelines, also paves the way for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The governor stressed that this law was clearly “a threat to our liberties” and called on 20 other states considering similar legislation to “prevent the passing of this law.”
South Dakota’s governor vetoes bill that would “ban” bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from being used as money.
The South Dakota government announced Friday that Gov. Kristi Noem has vetoed House Bill 1193 “which would violate freedom in digital currency.” In her veto letter, the governor stated:
HB 1193 adopts a definition of “money” to specifically exclude cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin as well as other digital assets. At the same time, these UCC revisions include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as money.
Noting that the bill was over 110 pages long, the governor explained in an interview with Fox News on Friday that it was “sold as an update to the UCC’s policies [Uniform Commercial Code]backed by all our financial institutions, our banks.”
She elaborated: “When we started reading through it, we saw the section of the bill that changed the definition of currency. And essentially it paved the way for a government-run CBDC, and it also banned every other form of cryptocurrency, bitcoin or digital currency that existed.”
Noting that South Dakota is the first state to “really look at this bill and find out the truth of what it says,” the governor said she “clearly sees it as a threat to our liberty.”
20 other states are considering similar legislation
Gov. Noem continued: “We have the same language in 20 other states. I believe it should pave the way for the federal government to control our currency and thereby control the people. It should be alarming for everyone and it is being sold as a UCC policy update.”
The governor went on to warn that “when the government’s CBDC becomes the only legal digital currency,” the government “will control how you spend that money and it will take away all your freedom.” She tweeted on Saturday:
More than 20 other states have the same UCC language ahead of them. These bills change the definition of “money”, make cryptocurrency more difficult to use, and make it easier for the federal government to adopt a CBDC. These states must prevent the passage of this law.
In her veto letter, the governor expressed several concerns. First, she said that “explicitly excluding cryptocurrencies as money would make cryptocurrencies more difficult to use. By unnecessarily restricting that freedom, HB 1193 would place the citizens of South Dakota at a commercial disadvantage.”
Additionally, Noem said that “by defining ‘money’ in this proposed way, HB 1193 opens the door to the risk that the federal government could more easily adopt a CBDC, which might then become the only viable digital currency.”
The governor concluded, “At this point, no such government-backed electronic currency has been created,” stressing:
It would be unwise to create regulations for something that does not already exist. More importantly, South Dakota should not open the door to possible future federal overreach.
What do you think of the UCC policy update that seeks to ban the use of cryptocurrencies as money and pave the way for government-run central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as outlined by Governor Noem? Let us know in the comment section below.
photo credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, WikiCommons
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Source: Crypto News Deutsch
